A change to Danville’s proposed fairness ordinance is raising questions for local citizens.
The new exemption was added Tuesday just before the ordinance was scheduled for a final reading.
Danville’s fairness ordinance would prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation in employment, housing, and public accommodations with an exemption for mostly privately funded religious institutions.
But a special exception for Sunrise Children’s Services was proposed Tuesday following more than an hour of closed door debate by the Danville City Commission. The faith-based social services provider had threatened to sue the city if it moved forward with the unamended ordinance.
The psychiatric treatment facility employs about 50 people. Despite an affiliation with the Kentucky Baptist Convention, Sunrise is primarily funded by the state and federal government.
The ordinance now returns to the commission for another first reading.
