The Ohio chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has warned the village of Waynesville that it illegally discriminated against a gay man by denying his application to the village council.
David Nation, 41, was the only applicant to fill the vacancy on the council. He submitted his application several weeks before the July 10 application deadline set by the City Council, and was the only applicant after the deadline passed. Still, he will not be sworn in at the council’s July 15 meeting, and pro tempore Chris Colvin announced that the council will instead interview four candidates. Nation and three others who had not applied but were looking after the deadline passed. Ultimately, the council appointed one of them, Lyle Anthony.
“My reason for not supporting David Nation in this appointment is his application, which includes a core accomplishment focused on ‘diversity and inclusion’; [LGBTQ+] Rainbow Alliance ERG advocates for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in “local governments, businesses, and educational institutions,” Colvin said at the time.
According to the ACLU, this amounts to “obvious discrimination” based on sexual orientation.
“Waynesville Village Council flagrantly discriminated against Mr. Nation. Excluding individuals for being different is not only prohibited by law, but also inhibits the community’s ability to grow and thrive. We look forward to swift action from the Council to address this clear constitutional violation,” said Amy Gilbert, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Ohio. press release.
“The council’s actions are in clear violation of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,” one person said. letter It was sent by the ACLU to the City Council and Mayor Earl Isaacs on Oct. 7 and signed by Gilbert. “Treating individuals differently based on their protected classifications would trigger “enhanced” oversight under the Fourteenth Amendment and would likely be unconstitutional. …Recognizing the importance of this constitutional protection, the City of Waynesville’s own ordinance prohibits public officials from knowingly depriving or attempting to deprive any “constitutional or statutory rights.” are.
This letter states that the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision Bostock v. Clayton County Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits sex discrimination and also prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Gilbert said council members “tried to justify their decision to vote against Nation as a matter of ‘policy concerns,’ rather than because of his sexual orientation,” which ” It is nothing more than an excuse,” he wrote.
“The City Council has received signatures from 100 Waynesville residents supporting Mr. Nation,” the letter notes. “He was the only applicant to apply by the deadline set by the council, and in fact was the only applicant not belatedly encouraged by council members to apply. Many cities in Ohio, including the state itself, Pointing out that Mr. Nation is involved in organizations that support DEI efforts, when the county continues to take advantage of DEI efforts and policies, is an attempt to cover up the city council’s discrimination against Mr. Nation. This is nothing but a blatant attempt to do so.”
“It is clear that Mr. Nation has legal recourse to redress the discrimination he has suffered if he so chooses,” Gilbert continued. “To avoid this outcome, we urge the Village of Waynesville to immediately We urge them to implement non-discrimination policies.”
“There is no written statement in response to the ACLU,” village officials told Columbus TV station WCMH, adding, “At no time did any applicant not be selected for discriminatory reasons, and no such “There is no evidence to support this decision,” it said in a previous statement. Accusation. ” The village and council “consider this matter closed and will not be making any further comments or statements regarding this matter,” officials told the station.
They cited another argument by the ACLU, namely that the council violated Ohio’s open meetings law by failing to give advance notice of its July 31st meeting, denying the Nation’s application and allowing Anthony to vote for the council. He did not respond to the claim that he had done so. The ACLU requested all of the village’s public records regarding the vacancy filling and possible violations of open meeting regulations.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
