Sneed Exclusive….
Ka-ching!
Sneed hears Mayor Rahm Emanuel is likely to issue an executive order barring non-essential municipal travel to North Carolina, which just passed a law that the City Council’s Gay Caucus feels discriminates against gender identity.
At issue: North Carolina’s recent enactment of legislation which bars transgender people from using bathrooms and changing facilities corresponding to such their gender identities.
Ald. Ed Burke and the City Council’s Gay Caucus, which is comprised of Aldermen Deb Mell (33rd), Tom Tunney (44th), Raymond Lopez (15th), Carolos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) and James Capplemen (46th), sent the letter to Emanuel Tuesday urging the suspension of municipal travel funded by the city.
“The North Carolina legislation also excludes sexual orientation and gender identity from its anti-discrimination protections, and prohibits units of local government from extending such protections to LGBT citizens,” added Ald. Burke.
“We respectfully request that you issue an executive order directing city agencies, departments, boards and commissions to review all requests for city-funded or city-supported travel to the state of North Carolina and to bar any such non-essential travel to North Carolina so long as there is a law in effect there that creates the grounds for discrimination against lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens,” said the letter co-signed by Ald. Burke and the Gay Caucus.
“It’s the only way we can affect antidiluvian attitudes like this, hitting them where it really hurts . . . in the pocket,” said Ald. Burke. “We would urge the Chicago Chamber of Commerce to follow suit.”
