Springfield, MO - Ordinance would add protection for gay, transgender citizens

[Felix]

Springfield News-Leader
Amos Bridges
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20120429/NEWS06/304290030/springfield-city-council-human-rights-council-gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender-rights

Members of the human rights commission and gay and transgender rights advocates acknowledge the issue can be complex, but say it's not altogether new territory.

"Other cities have navigated these ordinances successfully and I have no doubt Springfield can do it, as well," said Stephanie Perkins, deputy director of the statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advocacy group PROMO.

The ordinance proposed in Springfield is based closely on the law in Columbia, which in December became the sixth city in Missouri to include gender identity as a protected class.