BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – City leaders in Bismarck have quietly approved a resolution condemning discrimination in housing, employment and services based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
It has no force of law, but members of the LGBTQ community are still pleased with the move in the wake of the Legislature’s defeat last year of a resolution seeking the same rights statewide.
Kevin Tengesdal, who served in a discussion on the issue in Bismarck, says he sees the resolution as a promising step for the city and that he hopes a state nondiscriminatory effort is in North Dakota’s future.
Mathew Leidholm, a board member of LGBTQ advocacy group Dakota Outright, says the resolution is one of the most important steps Bismarck could have taken in protecting its citizens and creating a culture of acceptance.
