Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY -- Salt Lake City's government is pushing for a new ordinance that would ban discrimination in housing and employment.
The city's Human Rights Commission released a new discrimination report Tuesday.
The mayor and members of the commission held a press conference on the steps of City Hall to discuss the findings. The group says its study found a surprising number of cases in Salt Lake involving discrimination, particularly in housing and employment.
Some cases involved a person getting turned away because of race or ethnicity. In other cases it was gender or sexual orientation.
Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker said, "Today I not only accept this report, I endorse and embrace it going forward."
Among other things, the commission recommended the city create a non-discrimination ordinance, which would prohibit housing or employment discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, source of income, age, gender or sexual orientation.
Yolanda Francisco-Nez, a coordinator with the Office of Diversity and Human Rights, said, "We need to create, truly, a city where equality is respected. That equality exists for everyone, everyone who lives in this city, who visits the city, who is affected by our laws. I really would like to see equality for all."
The city wants to create a system for collecting and addressing discrimination claims, something it does not currently have.
E-mail: jdaley@ksl.com
