BOISE, Idaho — The Boise, Idaho city council on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve an LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance.
The meausre, which prohibits discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations based on sexual orientation and gender identity, will take effect Jan. 1. More than 150 people gave the council a standing ovation after they approved the ordinance, reported Boise State Public Radio.
The ordinance was initially proposed by Council President Maryanne Jordan and Councilwoman Lauren McLean.
“No one in our community should fear losing a job, losing their home, or being turned away at a restaurant for who they are or who they love and this makes that official,” sadi McLean said, who made the motion to pass the ordinance.
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Three weeks earlier, the city council took public testimony on the ordinance in a meeting which lasted almost five hours.
Boise, the state capital, becomes the second city in Idaho to make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity; Sandpoint, Id., passed a similar ordinance in December 2011, and Pocatello is also considering a non-discrimination measure.
The law exempts churches and private organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America, as well as federal and state agencies.
Currently there is no statewide protection to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.