JUNEAU, Alaska — Two Alaska state representatives plan to reintroduce separate bills that would make it illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
KTOO reports former Juneau Rep. Beth Kerttula, a Democrat, introduced the same bill in 2011 and 2013. Rep. Cathy Munoz, a Juneau Republican, was a co-sponsor in 2013.
Munoz will reintroduce the bill, which covers sexual orientation only, and is hopeful it will carry more weight with her Republican majority colleagues this time.
Rep. Andy Josephson, an Anchorage Democrat, says in a release he also will sponsor legislation that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation as well as gender identity or expression.
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Josephson is also sponsoring an amendment to the state constitution to legalize gay marriage in Alaska.
A federal court in October struck down Alaska’s former constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, but an appeal is pending.