Idaho's gay and lesbian activists claim progress on bill

Boise, Idaho (AP) — Idaho's gay and lesbian activists lined up 22 hours of testimony in their effort to have anti-discrimination laws amended to include them in housing and employment protections.

And though they weren't able to change the state's Human Rights Act, supporters say they were able to change perceptions among lawmakers with the flood of emotional stories.

"I had never met so many people who were LGBT before the testimony," Rep. Linden Bateman said.

"This was an experience with a depth with so many different voices," he added. "My heart has been touched."

The Idaho Falls Republican sits on the House State Affairs Committee and was among those who voted down an "Add the Words" bill 13-4 along party lines. The proposal would have added "sexual orientation and gender identity" to the law that bans discrimination based on race, sex, color, religion and national origin in housing, employment and public accommodations.

Currently, 19 states have passed anti-discrimination laws that include sexual-orientation and gender-identity protections. Three other states have passed laws protecting only sexual orientation.

In Idaho, it was a measure of victory for LGBT advocates even to get the proposal to a committee hearing after years of failed attempts and protests. Over the past decade, supporters have run into resistance not only from Idaho's conservative GOP-controlled Statehouse but also from the state's strong religious population concerned the amendment would infringe on religious freedoms.

"Even if we didn't get the votes that we needed with this bill, we did move people to a different place. That's good for society and that's good for Idaho," Rep. John McCrostie said.

The Boise Democrat is Idaho's only gay legislator and voted in favor of the failed proposal. He said there's momentum to reach a compromise on the legislation, but he's not sure whether it could happen before the end of the session.

Bateman agrees there might be room for compromise and said he would be willing to vote for the right proposal. He said he still regards gay sexual activity as sinful but added that the testimony, which spanned three workdays, taught him that LGBT people don't choose their orientation.

"There's so much of the world that doesn't understand what is going on," he said.

The likelihood of a compromise bill passing this session is unclear. No new proposal has come forth and time to introduce one is dwindling as lawmakers get closer to finalizing the state budget.

For McCrostie, a compromise would be legislation that included protections for gay and lesbian people against housing and employment discrimination. The public accommodations provision, mainly revolving around who can use public bathrooms, could be put off for a later date, he said.

He says he knows of lawmakers whose positions have changed since hearing the testimony. None have come forward publicly, however.

During his closing statements, Rep. Vito Barbieri told the committee —and the crowded auditorium awaiting the committee's decision— that he felt that a compromise was possible between religious freedom supporters and the LGBT community.

Barbieri now says his comment was an emotional response to the multitude of stories he heard of violence against the LGBT community. He agreed that attacks must stop but says he has not yet heard of a legislative solution that would involve adding protections for one group without taking freedoms from another.

"If this community is going to have the same success in integrating into the society, it's going to require a change of heart," he said. "Then the question is, the violent elements we're looking, how do we reach that? We do not reach that. That is between the creator and the individual."

By Kimberlee Kruesi, Associated Press. Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Gayly – February 10, 2015 @ 12:15pm.