Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Legal Department

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Toni R. Wheeler, Director of the Legal Department
C:	Cynthia Wagner, Diane Stoddard, Jonathan Douglass
Date:	September 29, 2011
RE:	Ordinance Prohibiting Discrimination Against Persons Based Upon Gender Identity – Ordinance No. 8672

At its regular meeting on September 27, 2011, the City Commission received extensive public comment on Ordinance No. 8672.  The Commission adopted the proposed ordinance on first reading, amending the definition of “gender identity” slightly to require a degree of persistence in the person’s gender-related identity, appearance, behavior and other characteristics in order to be protected by the law. 

Ordinance No. 8672 has been revised to reflect the definition as amended by the City Commission on September 27^th. Ordinance No. 8672 defines “gender identity” as “the persistent sense of one’s gender-related identity, appearance, behavior, and other characteristics of an individual, as perceived by the individual or another, and without regard to the individual’s actual or assigned sex at birth.” 

Action:  Adopt on second and final reading, Ordinance No. 8672.