Protesters gathered June 5 on Ketchikan’s Berth 3 promenade to demonstrate outside a flower shop that reportedly refused to take an order for a same-sex wedding. (Eric Stone/KRBD)

A ban on discrimination against LGBTQ people in Ketchikan is moving forward. The City Council voted to advance an ordinance after hearing hours of community testimony in support of the measure.

For some Ketchikan residents speaking at the Ketchikan City Council’s meeting, like local businesswoman Jaimie Palmer, the measure was a no-brainer.

“The anti-discrimination ordinance, that’s nuts. It’s 2020, what are we doing?” Palmer said.

But for some, the issue of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is personal.

“In moving to a new city, there is usually a mixture of uncertainty and excitement. But as a gay man, there’s an added fear of being targeted for my sexual orientation,” said Ryan McHale. He told the city council he’s relocated here to curate the city’s museums.

“The initial excitement of a job offer was short-lived,” he said. “I was hit with the reality that Ketchikan and the state of Alaska lack basic legal protections for LGBTQ+ individuals.”

Though the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that employers can’t discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, its impact in non-workplace settings — like housing and public-facing businesses — is less clear.

“This means that people can be denied access to these public places and services based on who they are or whom they love with little recourse. We have seen this in our own community.

He’s referring to a well-publicized incident in which a Ketchikan flower shop reportedly wouldn’t take an order for a same-sex wedding.

“It’s critical that the Ketchikan City Council ensures that our city is welcoming affirming, and most importantly safe for LGBTQ individuals,” McHale said.

McHale was one a dozen or so members of the public who spoke in favor of the proposal.

Jewelry store owner Jai Mahtani shared his own story.

“When I came here 29 years ago, I went to a barber shop to get a haircut. The person goes, I don’t cut hair of your kind,” he said. “So if you have to deal with anything tonight, don’t deal with everything pass that anti discrimination, article. We need it.”

Though classes like nationality, race and religion are already protected by federal and state law, they’re included in Ketchikan’s proposal.

Ketchikan’s state representative, independent Dan Ortiz, lent his support, as well.

“For me to stand silent, I think, is not appropriate. And so I just wanted to state that I’m in full support of the accounts that I’ve heard this evening by those folks,” Ortiz said.

No one spoke up to oppose the proposal. The Ketchikan City Council directed the city attorney to draw up an ordinance for the council’s next meeting.

Council Member Janalee Gage brought the proposal forward. She says she’s struggled with discrimination for decades after an accident left her disabled. Other communities have similar measures on the books, and…

“I think it’s time that Ketchikan join Juneau, Sitka, Anchorage, and hopefully, maybe the state will catch up,” Gage said.

If eventually passed, its scope would be somewhat limited — it wouldn’t affect Ketchikan businesses outside city limits. The measure is scheduled to come back to the council July 2.

The post Ketchikan advances measure to ban discrimination against LGBTQ individuals appeared first on KRBD.

Protesters rally on June 5 outside a Ketchikan flower shop that reportedly refused to take an order for a same-sex wedding. (Eric Stone/KRBD

A proposal that would ban discrimination against LGBTQ people in Ketchikan is up for debate Thursday — about two weeks after protesters thronged a flower shop that reportedly refused service to a gay couple getting married.

Ketchikan’s proposed measure would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. That’s in addition to a number of other categories already protected by federal and state law.

The actual ordinance itself hasn’t yet been written — Council Member Janalee Gage says she wants the city’s attorney attorney to craft an ordinance barring discrimination.

This follows a major victory for the LGBTQ community.  In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects homosexual, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination at work. But that ruling’s impact on other forms of discrimination against LGBTQ people — outside the workplace — is less clear.

Tommy Varela, left, and Varela’s fiance, Stephen Kossak, right, turned out to the June 5 rally. (Eric Stone/KRBD)

The proposal also follows a more than 100-person demonstration outside a Ketchikan flower shop that reportedly refused to serve a customer seeking flowers for a same-sex wedding. The owner of Heavenly Creations, the flower shop, has repeatedly declined to comment on the record, citing legal advice.

Standing across the street from Heavenly Creations at the early June protest, groom-to-be Tommy Varela said he hoped the demonstration would build momentum towards nondiscrimination measures.

“It’s time that Alaska catches up with some of the United States that has already passed antidiscriminatory laws. So we think that this is a perfect jumping off point. This is a perfect catalyst for change,” Varela told KRBD at the rally.

At least 21 states — but not Alaska — require public-facing businesses to serve customers without regard to their sexual orientation or gender identity. That’s according to the Human Rights Campaign, a LGBTQ advocacy group.

State lawmakers took up a bill that would enact similar protections across Alaska last year. Though it gathered a throng of co-sponsors in the House, it has yet to make it to either chamber for a floor vote.

Last year, the mayor of Fairbanks vetoed a similar nondiscrimination measure passed by the City Council. Juneau, Sitka and Anchorage all have ordinances on the books that protect LGBTQ people from discrimination.

The Ketchikan City Council will take up the question Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Ted Ferry Civic Center. Public testimony will be heard at the beginning of the meeting.

Thursday’s meeting will also be live-streamed at the city’s website and broadcast on local cable channels.

The post Proposed Ketchikan ordinance would ban discrimination against LGBTQ individuals appeared first on KRBD.

Tommy Varela, left, Varela’s childhood teacher Valerie Brooks, center, and Varela’s fiance, Stephen Kossak, right, turned out to rally Friday. (Eric Stone/KRBD)

More than 100 people protested Friday outside a Ketchikan flower shop that reportedly refused to sell flowers for a same-sex wedding.

Tommy Varela is planning to marry fiance Stephen Kossak in Ketchikan this summer. He said flower shop Heavenly Creations declined to take his mother’s flower order for Varela’s August 1 wedding.

“This is a demonstration of love — that love is okay,” Varela told KRBD at the rally. “More importantly, we have an anti protester with a sign that says it’s okay to be Christian. There are Christians on our side standing here right now. No one is saying it’s not okay to be Christian. What we’re saying is it’s not okay to dehumanize and devalue LGBTQ people’s life.”

Varela grew up in Ketchikan, later moving to Chicago. He says he’s planning to return to Southeast Alaska after he’s married. He says his mother ended up ordering flowers from a national chain.

Heavenly Creations owner Heather Dalin declined comment Friday, citing legal advice. But the store was busy with customers.

Among them was Robin Reigard. As she exited with a white flower, she said she supports a business owner’s right to turn away customers.

“I believe that we have a great nation that gives us the right to choose — free will choice,” Reigard said. “I believe the Bible gives the right free will choice. They have a right to do that. It’s their free will choice.”

Two counter-protestors also turned up in support of the flower business.

The rally was lively but peaceful. Around half of the demonstrators wore masks, though social distancing was not possible in the crowd.

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