TULSA, Okla. — 2 News is listening to two groups: veterans and members of the LGBTQ+ community. The groups are speaking up as the City Council considers legislation to strengthen protection for both.
“It doesn’t put anyone above anyone else. It allows us to be equal,” former councilor Crista Patrick said during the June 18 city council meeting.
WATCH: 'Makes us equal' |Council considers protections for veterans and LGBTQ+ members
Regarding veterans, the council is considering strengthening the language within housing protections for veterans.
“We serve, we sacrifice, but when we get home, we’re expected to silently rebuild without help,” Tulsa veteran Nichole Montgomery said.
With respect to members of the LGBTQ+ community, the council is considering changes to strengthen language which prevents discrimination at “public accommodations,” AKA restaurants, movie theaters, shops and more.
“I implore you to show that you care about your queer family members and your queer community members,” Sam Robson said, “Because we will remember how you vote today.”
Fifteen people, all in favor of the changes, addressed the council during its June 18 meeting.
Votes on the amendment are expected to split, with councilors Vanessa Hall-Harper, Jackie Dutton, Laura Bellis and Lori Decter-Wright expected to vote ‘yes.’
Councilors Karen Gilbert, Christian Bengel, Phil Lakin, and Carol Bush are expected to cast ‘no’ votes.
Councilor Anthony Archie is caught in the middle, as the presumed tiebreaker.
“There’s a concern about federal funding,” Councilor Archie said.
Amid President Donald Trump’s cuts to municipal governments, some councilors, like Archie, fear those cuts could come to Tulsa if the measure passes. Councilor Decter-Wright is trying to quell the fears.
“We know who was president in 2016, and if there was going to be retaliation for putting this kind of language in our ordinances, I think we would have seen it then,” Decter-Wright said.
Councilor Lakin claims he doesn’t yet know enough about the legislation to make an informed vote.
“There are people who have been contacting us who are asking us questions about it that I certainly can’t answer in the amount of time that I’ve had,” Lakin said.
Similar changes were proposed in 2023, but stalled out with one delay of the vote after another. Wednesday night, after nearly an hour of debate, councilors again decided to delay the vote, committing to finally making a decision, one way or another, at the end of August.
“When the uniform came off, they were left to fight different battles. One they never trained for, being invisible in a city they call home, because they didn’t teach us to cope,” Montgomery said, “I represent every veteran, who is too sick, or is too broken to stand here themselves. I am asking you to do what’s right, to lead and to listen.”
Skeptics call the delay prudent. Supporters say it is denied justice.
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