Another Kansas town might reject an ordinance granting special rights to homosexuals. It will be on the ballot in November.
In Salina, which is north of Wichita, the city council in May approved an ordinance for homosexuals and transgendered people in housing, public accommodation and employment. Robert Noland of the Kansas Family Policy Council tells OneNewsNow his organization worked with the local citizens who objected to launch a petition drive.
"In August we turned in over 2,400 signatures to that effect," he says. "We only needed about 1,290 signatures to accomplish our goal, and in late August it was affirmed that we had collected enough and at that point it would come before the city commission."
The commission had the option of repealing the ordinance or putting it on the ballot. They opted last week to put it on the November ballot. Voters in Hutchinson, Kansas, also will vote on whether to take action on a similar ordinance in their town. The Kansas city of Manhattan had passed such an ordinance, and a petition drive to overturn it was started but an election interrupted the process.
"They got rid of some city commissioners and elected some new ones, and before the petition process was complete, the city commission repealed it on their own," he explains.
One by one, residents in these cities have risen to the occasion, using the democratic process to make sure the majority view in the city is respected.