BEREA — Two Berea College students addressed the city council with an example of why they think the recently created human rights ordinance should include protection for gays.
Students Sam Gleaves and Jordan Engle say they were accosted Sept. 20 after a rally in support of a fairness ordinance that would include discrimination protection for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
“Jordan and I were verbally assaulted by a group of men yelling ‘F-ing f--gots’,” Gleaves said. “They threw a bottle of water at us. Jordan looked at me shocked and said, ‘I don’t know how you deal with this all the time.’”
Incidents like that do not happen often, but Gleaves said he is ashamed to say he had been called a “f--got” on the campus of Berea College.
“Council members, you have a legacy to uphold here,” he said. “Until you vote (to include protection for the LGBT community), I’m in danger and my friend Jordan is in danger.”
Engle, who was accompanied by his girlfriend at Tuesday’s meeting, said he was addressed (during the Sept. 20 alleged incident) based on what he was perceived to be rather than what he really was.
“It’s not always apparent who is gay or straight,” Engle said. “I don’t know if any members of the council are gay, but I could easily make that accusation. Would it be fair for any of you to lose your job because of that?”
Bill Woods, pastor of Middletown Baptist Church, said what happened to the two men was a result of ignorance, but that he still had a reason as to why the council should not include the LGBT community in the human rights commission ordinance.
He gave an example of a business owner who has an employee making sexual advances toward customers.
“Whether they are homosexual or heterosexual, should I not be able to dismiss that employee without any fear of retaliation from a fairness ordinance?” He asked.
Neither Berea Mayor Steve Connelly nor any council members commented about the issue after the students addressed the council.
The ordinance passed Sept. 20 is “… to promote fair treatment and equal opportunity for all people regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age or physical disability of any type,” it reads.
The ordinance calls for the creation of a human rights commission, formed to protect citizens from “… any direct or indirect act or practice of exclusion, distinction, restriction, segregation, limitation, refusal, denial or any other act or practice of differentiation or preference in the treatment of a person… .”
The commission will consist of seven members appointed by the mayor on a non-partisan basis.
The council has yet to make official appointments to the Berea Human Rights Commission.
Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@ richmondregister.com or 624-6608.
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