After months of delays and debate on the city of Arlington's anti-discrimination ordinance, on Tuesday, council members voted 5-4 not to reinstate the ordinance.

"The motion fails. The anti-discrimination ordinance will remain suspended until further action by the council," Arlington Mayor Jim Ross said after the vote was taken.

The ordinance included protections for the LGBTQ+ community. 

"This has not been easy. We've had very heated discussions," Ross said. "I assure you, despite the vote tonight, the city of Arlington remains committed to fostering an inclusive community for all residents and ensuring no one individual faces discrimination."

Why the anti-discrimination rule was suspended  

The ordinance, originally adopted in 2021, was temporarily suspended in September after city staff raised concerns that the ordinance would impact the city's ability to receive federal funding, citing the Trump administration's threat to withhold funds from cities with DEI programs. The issue has garnered national attention.

"This came up because our legal department tried to protect the city of Arlington," Bowie Hogg, the District 7 council member, said Tuesday night.

"If Arlington removed sexual orientation from the list of protected classes, they would be the first city in the history of our nation to do so," said DeeJay Johannessen, the CEO at the Help Center for LGBTQ+ Health. "The city has received no correspondence, no information, nothing threatening any money. So, our position is no federal funding was ever at risk."

City staff also proposed removing language referring to "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" from the ordinance — but that amendment was never voted on. 

"This was a really difficult decision for me; it wasn't easy. The more I looked at it, the more I noticed this ordinance is just plain bad policy," said Rebecca Boxall, District 5, on Tuesday night. "From the very beginning, the very inception of this, it was unenforceable at the city level ... It does not offer protection."  

LGBTQ+ advocates pushed for full restoration  

Since September, Arlington's anti-discrimination ordinance has remained suspended. Advocates like Johannessen hoped the council would restore the original language. 

"Not having an anti-discrimination ordinance doesn't only affect the LGBTQ community; if they do not put forward an ordinance in the city of Arlington, a restaurant could say, 'women are not allowed to eat here, LGBT people are not allowed to eat here,'" he said before the vote. "The public accommodations protections are entitled to under the Civil Rights Act, which don't include the word sex. And so, therefore, you could discriminate in Arlington, according to Arlington's ordinance, based upon sex. So, it's not just LGBT."

At Tuesday's meeting, 34 people spoke in support of reinstating the chapter, 11 in opposition. The conservative group Texas Values recommended the city remove the terms "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" from the ordinance. 

Opponents warn of legal and safety issues  

Texas Values says its concern is about protecting women and avoiding legal risk.

"Reinstating this ordinance, with a gender ideology definition, would be signaling a rejection of the direction of both the state of Texas and the Trump administration," said Jonathan Covey, the policy director for Texas Values. "The city of Arlington, do your job. Taxpayers didn't elect you to take ideological stands that legally expose the city. They want you to use common sense. They want you to uphold the privacy and the safety of women."

The mayor says he fully understands the disappointment of the community and says the city will remain committed to being inclusive for all.   

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