Lincoln Councilman will introduce ordinance protecting LGBT citizens in Nebraska's capitol

City Councilman Carl Eskridge, running for
reelection in District 4, is a UNL graduate
and 30-year resident of Lincoln, where,
with his wife Janet he has raised two
daughters, Hannah and Rachel

From Nancy Hick's story in the Lincoln Journal-Star:

     ...People in Lincoln who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered face significant barriers, said Tyler Richard, a member of the Outlink community center.

     ...Outlink members took their concerns to Eskridge after he was elected to the council in May 2011.

     Morgan Watters, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln student working in support of the ordinance, lost a job in Omaha when the owner found out the student attended an event supporting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people.

     "There was no recourse, no protections," Watters said. "While that didn't happen in Lincoln, I know it can."

     Eskridge said he has the support of Mayor Chris Beutler and has enough support from the seven-member City Council to get the measure adopted.

     It will appear on the council's agenda April 30, with a public hearing May 7. The council likely would vote on it May 14, Eskridge said.

 A 2011 Human Rights Campaign-commissioned poll revealed that about 73 percent of Nebraskans disapproved of discrimination against people based on sexual orientation. The coalition Make Lincoln Fair is supporting the reform of Lincoln's equal protection ordinance.