Kyle Bell

South Bend Mayor Stephen Luecke today signed an executive order that prohibits “discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in any city employment.” The South Bend Common Council failed to act on the issue of employment discrimination in the city of South Bend in 2006 when a proposal lost by a single vote. Discrimination is already prohibited based on race and gender.

Today’s executive order means that the city will investigate claims of hiring discrimination, as well as claims brought by city employees “who believe they have been discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” the order reads. The order does not affect hiring practices outside of city government. That would require action from the Common Council.

It has been recognized that diversity in the workplace is a benefit for everyone. Discrimination is an ill that virtually everyone deplores. Yet it is still a reality, as is housing discrimination, for all too many people that identify themselves as gay. It is time for the South Bend Common Council to recognize the history of racial and gender discrimination, the fact that it benefits no one, and that to exclude gays from this ordinance is inconsistent with the spirit of the law.