After 20 years, city celebrates ‘groundbreaking’ Fairness Ordinance with historic marker

Pride month is officially over, but Lexington officials are not quite finished celebrating advances for the LGBTQ community.

On Monday night, just days after the Lexington Pride Festival, Mayor Linda Gorton hosted a reception to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the passage of the Lexington Fairness Ordinance.

There, Gorton unveiled a historical marker memorializing the 1999 ordinance. The new marker, sponsored by the organization JustFund, sits just steps away from Lexington’s government center and recognizes “the groundbreaking county-wide ordinance” that “has become a model for others in the Commonwealth.”

“Our constitution lays out the rights of all people to be free,” Gorton said before the unveiling. “Freedom from discrimination is what the Lexington Fairness Ordinance is all about.”

Lexington became the second city in Kentucky to adopt a fairness ordinance when it passed on July 8, 1999, following 18 days of discussion and debate. Louisville passed the state’s first such ordinance, but Lexington’s Fairness Ordinance outstripped its predecessor in degree of protection, as Louisville’s Fairness Ordinance only addressed employment discrimination.

The Lexington Fairness Ordinance, on the other hand, prohibited employment, housing and public accommodation discrimination on the basis of sexuality or gender identity — and continues to do so.

Gorton indicated that Lexington has led by example on this issue and commended Kentucky cities who have since “joined” Lexington in passing a Fairness Ordinance. As of last week, that list includes Henderson.

Since the Fairness Ordinance’s passage in 1999, Gorton said Lexington has made several strides toward LGBTQ equality and recognition. Those strides include two other LGBTQ-centered historical markers, several”openly gay elected officials and rainbow crosswalks downtown.

And yet, “the work continues.” During the reception, Gorton announced that a task force of “city and community leaders” will be formed “to review (Lexington’s Human Rights Campaign score) and make recommendations for strategies” to further improve Lexington’s ranking. Although Lexington has scored relatively highly on the HRC’s index of protections for LGBTQ rights in the past, the elusive 100% score has yet to be achieved. Gorton said she was committed to changing that.

Gorton’s announcement, delivered against the backdrop of a massive rainbow flag, was met by applause.

The city’s LGBTQ community also recently commemorated a national date of importance. At Lexington’s Pride Festival last weekend, speakers commemorated the 50th anniversary of the movement-defining uprising at Stonewall Inn, which changed the tone of national discourse surrounding LGBTQ rights in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.

“Just like it was right to stand up against unequal treatment in New York City in 1969, it was right to support equality in Lexington in 1999,” Gorton said.

In the 20 years since its passage, the Fairness Ordinance has never been amended, nor has any attempt to repeal it been made. A physical testament to that longevity now sits before Lexington’s government center.

That testament reads: “On July 8, 1999, Fayette County outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in housing, employment and public accommodations. This groundbreaking, county-wide ordinance was the first in Kentucky to provide these protections. It has become a model for others in the Commonwealth.”

This story was originally published July 1, 2019 at 8:24 PM.