In 2007, the City of Largo made national headlines when it fired its city manager, Steve Stanton, after he disclosed his plans to begin living as a woman. Since there was no protection on the city or county books for transgender people, Stanton had no recourse in the firing. He has since landed a job as the city manager for Lake Worth on Florida’s east coast.
The City of Tampa doesn’t want to experience the same national headlines.
The Tampa City Council has agreed to explore adding transgender people to the list of people protected under the city’s human rights ordinance. The ordinance already includes gays and lesbians. The council agreed to consider the protections after hearing from Tampa Human Rights Board chair Philip Dinkins.
“A need exists in our city for legal protection of these individuals from discrimination,” Dinkins told the council. “Ensuring that the City of Tampa takes a strong stand against discrimination in all its forms will have a positive impact on our city’s economic development. Progressive companies seek out communities committed to diversity and opposed to discrimination.”
According to Dinkins, no transgender people have filed complaints with the city’s board regarding discrimination, but he said that is probably because the group is not a protected class.
“While [it appears it’s] not happening in our community, it happened across the bay in a very visible situation,” he said. He also said that unlike gays or lesbians, transgender people cannot hide their identity if they need or want to, which means legal protection is even more important.
City administration officials and Tampa’s legal team will research transgender protections and are expected to come back to the council with a recommendation later this fall.
