A setback in Alaska. Last week an ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation was passed by the Anchorage Assembly. On Monday the measure was vetoed by the new Republican Mayor Dan Sullivan.
Sullivan tells KTUU-TV: "I spent a lot of time over the weekend looking at the statements that came on the emails and reviewing the information that came in with the Assembly and listening to their deliberations, and quite frankly I just don't think there's enough evidence to support the necessity for an ordinance. And you combine that with the overwhelming support from the community for me to veto it, and it made my decision pretty clear."
After months of debate, the Assembly approved the measure last week by a 7-4 vote. This follows "decades of efforts to pass similar measures," reports the New York Times. The mayor's father, George Sullivan, who also served as mayor, "vetoed an initial proposal in 1976. Then, as now, the ordinance met with vocal opposition among Christian conservatives"
The Assembly has three weeks to override Sullivan's veto with eight votes.
Comments