Prominent Omaha musicians, including Bright Eye's Conor Oberst, sign letter slamming LB912, antigay attack by Sen. Beau McCoy; 'deplorable and unacceptable'

This comes via Voice of Omaha. McCoy, of District 39, is running against Democrat Judy Domina. Read more here, here and here.

January 23, 2012

RE: Legislative Bill 912

Dear Senators,

We are musicians who have chosen to live in the Omaha community. Our work has had national and international media attention, and when we tour around the country and around the world, we want to be proud to say that we’ve come from Omaha, Nebraska. It’s extremely important to us that the policies of our community reflect our values.

We were excited to learn that Councilman Ben Gray was going to put forth a citywide ordinance that would ensure equal employment opportunity for all, including our LGBT community. Progressive cities attract eager newcomers, both young professionals and artists, which in turn creates growth and economic prosperity. We firmly believe that Omaha is a vibrant city and can continue to be a top US destination for business and the arts, but only if we provide the same protections that other major cities do for every one of their citizens.

Senator Beau McCoy has recently proposed a legislative bill (LB 912) that will effectively squash Councilman Gray’s Equal Employment Ordinance before the City Council of Omaha will even have the chance to vote on it. We find this deplorable and unacceptable. LB 912 will send the message to the world that Nebraska is not forward thinking or welcoming, which would be detrimental to our community’s current momentum and future growth.

A lot of the recent national press surrounding Omaha has revolved around the strength of our burgeoning art scene and the economic growth that has resulted from it. Passage of LB 912 will likely cause the attrition of some of our community’s best and brightest; it will certainly deter outsiders from exploring opportunities in Omaha.

We want to continue to be proud of our community and keep our creative class and entrepreneurial spirit strong. Please don’t let LB 912 move forward and let the state of Nebraska block the City of Omaha’s attempt to do the right thing and create equal opportunity for everyone.

Signed,

Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes)

Laura Burhenn (The Mynabirds)

Orenda Fink (Azure Ray, O+S)

Todd Fink (The Faint, Depressed Buttons)

Clark Baechle (The Faint, Depressed Buttons)

Jacob Thiele (The Faint, Depressed Buttons)

Nik Fackler (Icky Blossoms & feature film director of Lovely, Still)

Dan McCarthy (McCarthy Trenching, So So Sailors)

Stefanie Drootin Senseney (The Good Life, Big Harp & founder of Omaha Girls Rock)

Chris Senseney (Big Harp, Baby Walrus)

Benjamin Brodin (Before the Toast & Tea, producer & recording engineer at ARC studios)

Rachel Tomlinson Dick (Honeybee & Hers)

A.J. Mogis (Criteria, producer & recording engineer at ARC studios)

Melissa Amstutz (Honeybee & Hers)

Roger L. Lewis (Conduits, The Good Life, & Neva Dinova)

Jenna Morrison (Conduits, Son Ambulance)

Mike Dappen aka Dapose (The Faint, Vverevvolf Grehv)