'Add the words' fails in House

Idaho's House State Affairs Committee voted 13-4 on this morning to defeat a bill that would have added the words "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the state's Human Rights Act. The vote fell along party lines.

Some of the legislators who voted to defeat the bill expressed their willingness to support a future compromise bill.

"We have come a long way. I think this very hearing has brought us a long, long way," said Rep. Ken Andrus, R-Lava Hot Springs, addressing supporters of the bill. "Do not despair. Your concerns are legitimate, very legitimate, and people in Idaho and in the Legislature have heard you and are hearing you."

But, he added, "We have to be very careful how we make those rules and today my feeling is that this is not the rule that addresses the whole picture."

The approved motion to block the bill was made by Andrus.

Thursday's vote came after nearly 21 hours of public testimony Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. After a closing statement from Sen. Cherie Buckner-Webb, D-Boise, committee members made a several motions and statements before the deciding vote to hold the bill in committee.

"I know what it's like to walk in fear and uncertainty," Buckner-Webb said. "I know what it’s like to face the fear of being treated with disdain and to be diminished. I know the energy it takes to constantly be on guard. I stand before you today compelled to call out for the right that some in their privilege continue to take for granted."

An amended motion to move the bill to the entire House without a committee recommendation that it be passed was defeated 13-4. A different amended version, to move the bill to the House floor with a do-pass recommendation from the committee, also failed by a 13-4 vote.

"These are good human beings that deserve the same right and privilege that everybody else does," said Rep. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise. "Even if we vote to pass it to the floor, that would at least give it its time for everyone to vote."

Loertscher noted that the committee was "past 22 hours now on this project."

"Every member of this committee is changed because of this process," he said. But, he added, he feared the financial burden for people to "defend themselves against government action or the actions of another."

"I am certainly open to something that will work for the state of Idaho. This is not that bill," he said.

Tears flowed among spectators who filled the Lincoln auditorium as the votes were cast defeating the legislation. After the voting was done, supporters filed out and lined the corridor in silent protest, their hands over their mouths, many still crying or stifling sobs.

The committee took testimony this week from 190 people — 134 in favor, 54 against and two neutral.

Advocates of adding anti-discrimination protections for Idahoans based on sexual orientation or gender identity have sought legislative action for nine years. This was the first year the Legislature held hearings.

Even so, the bill wasn't expected to move out of committee. As reported Tuesday by the Statesman, the committee's makeup (13 Republicans versus four Democrats) and the split in testimony provided an uphill battle for bill supporters. Several lawmakers had said privately that simply hearing the bill is the first step in a process that likely to take several years.

Earlier this week, the Idaho Attorney General's Office issued an opinion in the form of a letter dated Jan. 26 to Rep. Ilana Rubel stating that the proposed Add the Words bill would not force clergy to marry gay couples, nor would its passage likely impair any Idahoan's freedom of speech, specifically as it relates to someone's ability to express views about homosexuality. The letter, signed by Assistant Chief Deputy Brian Kane, was in response to three questions posed to the AG's Office by Rep. Rubel.

Kane wrote that Rubel's question about whether "federal (or state) law already exist which protects gays/transgender people in Idaho from discrimination in employment, housing and public services/accommodations?" could not be answered with a "simple 'yes' or 'no' because the relevant law is not settled."

Add the Words advocates applauded the legal opinion. Cindy Gross, an Add the Words organizer, said in a release Wednesday: "There was a significant amount of confusion about what the results of this bill would be, and I am happy to see an opinion from the AG's office so that we can avoid the mischaracterization of this bill."

Also Tuesday, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officials made news with their nationwide call for new laws that protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination while somehow also protecting those who suffer repercussions for asserting their religious beliefs toward these people.

On Wednesday, the Statesman's editorial board came out in support of the Add the Words legislation, writing in part: "Any rejection of the amendment in House Bill 2 from here on out is tantamount to endorsing discrimination against gay and transgender people."

The front page of Wednesday's Statesman featured a controversial peel-off sticker ad that read, in part, "Add No Words." It was paid for by an Idaho man named Lance Wells who says he wants to "draw people closer to God." Anger over the ad prompted a note from Statesman Publisher Mike Jung .