Note: The ordinance amends 1) the city's intimidation ordinance
to include protections for gender identification and 2) the city's
human rights ordinance for public accommodations, employment,
and real estate and housing. The text of the intimidation ordinace
and human rights ordinace are not included. Protections for gender
identification will be inserted into these ordinances. All people
are equally protected in the intimidation ordinance and in the
public accommodations, and real estate and housing sections of
the human rights ordinance.
Ordinance
City Of New Orleans
City Hall: June 18, 1998
Calendar No. 22021
BY Councilmember Singleton
AN ORDINANCE to provide for certain matters relatiing to gender
and gender dentification: to amend and re-ordain Section 54-379
of the Code of The City of New Orleans relative to defining and
prhibiting the crime of intimidaton; and otherwiise to provide
wwith respect thereto; and to ordain a new Section 86-xxxx of
the Code of the City of New Orleans, relatve to discrimination
on the basis of gender identfication; and otherwise to provide
with respect thereto and with respect to related matters.
WHEREAS, the hates crimes sections and the anti-discrimination
article of the City Code already provide broad protections against
victimization of and diiscriijmiination against individuals belonging
to many of the diverse social groups that inhabit and visit New
Orleans; and
WHEREAS, Sections 2-201 and 2-202(6) of the City's Bill of Rights,
a part of the City's home rule charter provide:
Section 2-201. Preamble to the Bill of Rights
This Bill of Rights is aspirational in nature. It incorporates
guiding principles from the United States Constitution as well
as the Louisiana Constitution. It reflects the beliefs, convictions,
and goals of the citizens of New Orleans.
Section 2-202 Bill of Rights
(6) No law shall deprive any person of any rights, privileges,
or immunities secured by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States or the State of Louisiana, nor shall any law discriminate
agaiinst any person because of race, color, religion, or national
origin. No law shall arbitrarily and capriciously or unreasonably
discriminate against a person because of birth, disablity, age,
sex, sexual orientation, gender identitification, culture, language,
social origin, or politcal affiliations; and
WHEREAS, an overwhelming majority of the City's voters approved
the foregoing provision in an election held in November of 1995;
and
WHEREAS, the Council has been requested by concerned citizens
to implement the policy approved by the voters in their adoption
of the foregoing provision in November 1995 and finds and declares
that the revisions of the City Code ordained in this ordinance
will serve to promote and implement that policy; now, therefore:
SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS that Section
54-379. Intimidation.
a) It is unlawful for any person to commit the crime of intimidation.
b) Intimidation is the commission of any act or ommission against
any person or property otherwise defined as an offense by this
Code, when a motive for said crime is the actual or perceived
race, color, creed, relgion, national origin, ancestry, disability,
gender , gender identification, or sexual orientation of another
person or persons.
c)Any person who is convicted of a volation of this section shall
be fined a penalty of $ 500 and imprisoned for six months. If
any portion of the sentence required or authorized by this section
is suspended, then the offender shall be required, as condition
of the suspension to provide complete financial retitution for
all resulting damages, and participate in an anti-bias educational
program or either similar community service program.
d) As used in this section, "gender identification"
and "sexual orientation" shall have meanings defined
in Chapter 86 of this Code.
SECTION 2 THAT A NEW SECTIION 86-xxxx OF THE CODE OF THE CITY
OF NEW ORLEANS IS HEREBY ORDAINED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:
Section 86- yyyy Gender Identification.
a) It shall be unlawful and prohibited discrimination under this
Chapter to discriminate against any person on the basis of his
or her gender identification if said discrimination would be prohibited
by this chapter when and if the act or ommission that constitutes
the discrimination were directed at or adversely affected a person
on the basis of his or her sexual oriientation. All prohibitions,
defenses, remedies, procedures and prvileges establshed or recognized
by this Code, and appliicable to discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation shall also apply to discrimination based on
gender identification.
b) "Gender identification" is the actual or perceived
condition, status or acts of:
1. identifying emotionally or psychologically with the sex other
than one's bological or legal sex at birth, whether or not there
has been a physical change of the organs of sex.
2. presenting and /or holding oneself out to the public as a memberof
the biological sex that was not one's biological or legal sex
at birth,
3. lawfully displaying physical characteristics and/or behavioral
characteristics and /or expressions which are widely perceived
as being appropriate to the biological or legal sex other than
one's biological sex at birth, as when a male is perceived as
feminine or a female is perceived as masculne, and /or
4. being physically and /or behaviorally androgynous.
c) Nothing in this Chapter shall prohibit an employer from prohibiting
cross-dressing in the work place or while an employee is acting
in the course and scope of his or her employment. For purposes
of this section, a person shall be deemed to be acting in the
scope of his or her employment if he or she would be deemed to
be in the scope and course of his employment for the purpose of
determining eligibility for worker's compensation. For purposes
of this section, "Cross-dressing" shall mean the wearing
of clothing, cosmetics, footwear and /or other accouterments generally
deemed or perceived as inapproriate to the gender that was one's
biologiical or legal gender at birth and /or generally deemed
or perceived as more appropriate to the gender that was not one's
biological or legal gender at birth. "Cross-dressing"
shall not be deemed to include the regular wearing of clothing,
cosmetics, footwear and or other accouterments which is apprpriate
to the gender other than his or her biological or legal gender
at birth with which an employee or applicant identifies if the
employee or applicant provides the employer with the written staement
of a licensed doctor or other health care professional certifying
that the employee or applicant presents the characteristics of
gender identification disorder or another siimilar status or condition
and that the employee or applicant intends prospectively to attire
and conduct himself or herself fo rthe foreseeable future in the
employee's employment and workplace or workplaces in the manner
appropriate for persons of the gender with which he or she identifies.
ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS July 1, 1998
Roll Call Vote
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Yeas: Singleton, Sapir, Carter, Glapion, Hazeur-Distance
Neas: Thomas
Absent: Terrell
Recused: None