Nebraska lawmakers again rejected a proposal to ban job discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers — but a Lincoln senator pledged to continue fighting.
“This conversation will not go away," Sen. Adam Morfeld said as debate on his measure wound to a close. "In fact, it’s just begun."
The Legislature voted 26-18 Wednesday to kill Morfeld's bill, which would have prohibited employers from refusing job applicants or taking action against workers based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Supporters called the issue one of fairness and said the bill was needed to help attract and retain talented young workers.
Opponents argued the protections are unnecessary, and cited concerns the measure would infringe on religious liberty or overburden small employers.
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It was the fourth time in as many years that state lawmakers have considered the subject.
Omaha put a similar ban in place four years ago, and a Lincoln measure was put on hold after a successful petition drive required it to either be repealed or placed on the ballot for voters to decide.
Lincoln City Councilman Carl Eskridge said the city's path forward remains unclear.
Wednesday's debate at the Capitol began with calls for cordiality from senators on both sides, but quickly ignited with fiery comments.
"It's very easy for those who want to discriminate, demean and degrade other people to say, 'Let's discuss this in a very civilized manner. Don't anybody get upset,'" Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers said at one point. "This is the most disgusting discussion I have heard. The most insulting, degrading, demeaning one I've heard."
Lincoln Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks, whose son is gay, alluded to LGBT staffers working in the Legislature for senators who opposed the bill.
Expecting supporters to not take the issue personally is "condescending," she said.
Opponents suggested Morfeld's bill might cause more problems than it solves.
"There’s certainly not a place for discrimination of any type in our state," said Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion, who owns a garage door installation service.
But small businesses without human resources departments might have a more difficult time protecting themselves against lawsuits than would the larger companies that supported Morfeld's bill, Smith said.
Omaha Sen. Beau McCoy, a former home improvement contractor and business owner, said he didn't see a need for the bill.
"We always looked for the best people to fill the positions on our team," he said. "We didn’t look at anything other than that.â€
Sen. Paul Schumacher of Columbus didn't vote on the proposal Wednesday, but recalled Franciscan nuns in the 1950s teaching him to check the whites of a person's eyes to see if they'd been baptized Catholic.
"Sometimes you wonder, do we need to just grow up?†he asked.
"All that mix of human skill and ability is in the soup which is humanity. ... To discriminate is just as dumb as looking into somebody's eyes to see if they are Lutheran or Catholic."
Morfeld said he will consider introducing a more sweeping bill next legislative session that also includes protections for LGBT people in housing and other areas.
Meanwhile the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is pursuing lawsuits against employers, arguing the Civil Rights Act's ban on sex discrimination also covers sexual orientation.
Eskridge, the Lincoln councilman, said he and other supporters of LGBT workplace protections are watching those cases as local officials decide how to proceed.
Lincoln technically could still put its measure on the November ballot, but the language must first be approved by a majority of the City Council, Eskridge said. He called a public vote a "suspect method" for determining the rights of a minority.
"There are just a lot of factors to figure out."