North Dakota Senate votes down LGBT anti-discrimination bill

BISMARCK — The North Dakota Senate defeated legislation banning discrimination based on sexual orientation Friday, Jan. 25, again turning down efforts to add LGBT protections to state law.

Senate Bill 2303 failed in a 20-27 vote. Grand Forks Democratic Sen. JoNell Bakke, the bill's primary sponsor, said it was meant to focus on prohibiting discrimination in housing and employment.

Bakke described her bill as a pared-down version of past efforts. She offered an amendment on the Senate floor that stripped out what she said was unnecessary language that caused some concerns during a committee hearing this week, but it failed.

The bill's proponents called it a matter of civil rights and argued adding sexual orientation to the list of protections that already cover race, sex, national origin and other factors would send a welcoming message to the LGBT community and prevent people from being fired from their job because of employer prejudices. They also cited the state's chronic workforce shortages.

Read more: https://www.inforum.com/news/government-and-politics/958513-North-Dakota-Senate-votes-down-LGBT-anti-discrimination-bill