Mesa NDO On-Hold? Human Rights Campaign Report 2015

The Mesa City Council has taken no action on a proposed non-discrimination ordinance for months, in spite of a public request to put discussion on the agenda.
Perhaps a new report on December 18, 2015 from the Human Rights Campaign will increase the momentum to ensure by the force of law the rights of all protected classes.
Although mayor John Giles has publicly stated "It's the right thing to do", he has not provided the leadership to get it done, even though a majority of City Council members appear to favor it.
The question remains who will take this to the next level for approval in upcoming election campaigns where three City Council seats, and the seat of the mayor, are up for grabs?

In 2015, HRC rallied against discriminatory anti-LGBT laws proposed in state legislatures across the country. Working with state LGBT advocacy groups and HRC members on the ground, the Human Rights Campaign was able to block almost all of the more than 115 anti-LGBT bills introduced in over 29 states.  The eyes of the nation focused on these anti-LGBT bills when Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed into law a discriminatory bill explicitly allowing individuals and businesses to cite religious belief as a legal reason to refuse goods or services to LGBT people.
HRC is committed to fighting back against these bills, advocating for equality and justice for all.



Two days ago they published the MEI 2015 Municipality Equality Index where three cities in Arizona rated a perfect score of 100 - Mesa rated 50.
47 points in the designated categories summarized below and bonus points for openly LGBT electednor municipal officials

00 out of 30 for non-discrimination laws

06 out of 24 for municipality as employer
13 out of 16 for municipal services
22 out of 22 for law enforcement
06 out of 08 for relationship with LGBT community

Read the entire Mesa MEI profile here  >>
http://www.hrc.org/apps/mei/profile.php?id=19#.VnarepXSnIW

Likewise on 19 December HRC called for the U.S. Department of Education to take action following anti-LGBT religious exemption requests
Read more >>
http://www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-calls-on-department-of-education-to-take-action-following-anti-lgbt