following hours of public comment. Hundreds of locals wrote emails and gave testimony weighing in, with the majority voicing support. But four days later, Matherly said the topic requires “further examination” in an open letter addressed to Fairbanks residents.
“Passing an ordinance to protect all Fairbanksans from discrimination shows that we come together to hold each other up and not push others down because of our differences,” he wrote in the letter, which was shared with NBC News.“It is past time to add these protections to our statutes and remove barriers for thousands of Alaskans who contribute to our state,” he wrote. “Hardworking Alaskans should not be discriminated against due to who they love ... or how they express their gender identity.
While HB 184 did not receive a vote on the Alaska House floor, Josephson said supporters of LGBTQ rights “have to celebrate even the baby steps.”Fairbanks Mayor Jim Matherly addresses a conference in Anchorage, Alaska, on Oct. 18, 2018.Progress on an LGBTQ nondiscrimination bill is likely to be incremental in 2019 as well. While Josephson claimed the first committee referral on HB 82 has been “very favorable,” newly elected Republican Gov.
But if HB 82 is allowed to advance, its supporters say Alaskans would come out in support of it. In an interview with, Hopkins noted Alaska “had the first laws banning racial discrimination in the country.” The Alaska Civil Rights Act was signed into law in February 1945, almost two decades before Congress passed a national version of the legislation.
MSignorile NBCOUT An Arctic Cold, Calculated move? Br-r-r-r-u-u-u-m-m-m!
NBCOUT Good for Fairbanks.
NBCOUT NOBODY CARES ANYMORE. Go have your gay union ceremonies and have your fun behind closed doors and leave me and my kids alone. STOP REPORTING ON THIS ISSUE, IT JUST ANNOYS EVERYONE.
NBCOUT
NBCOUT Oh Alaska the nothing else to do but beat your wife state lol
NBCOUT Perversions of the flesh are not Civil Rights issues...!!!!
NBCOUT Perhaps you should open your mind and try some of our ranch!? It won’t be easy, but if we want to address some people’s deeply entrenched racial attitudes, it may be the only way to explore a world without bigotry and hate