Letter and Testimony on County Equal Benefits Law, 11/18/09 and 12/1/09

Nov. 18, 2009  in the Gazette

December 1, 2009

TESTIMONY BEFORE THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY

COUNCIL ON BILL 37-09

DAVID S. FISHBACK, ADVOCACY CHAIR, METRO DC CHAPTER OF  PARENTS, F AMILIES, AND FRIENDS OF LESBIANS AND GAYS (PFLAG)

Good afternoon. I am speaking on behalf of the Metro DC Chapter of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays(PFLAG) in favor of Bill 37­ 09, which would require County contractors to offer their gay employees with domestic partners whatever benefits they offer their straight employees with, spouses.

 As a PFLAG dad and life long resident of Montgomery County, I am pleased and proud that the political leadership in this community repeatedly has rejected discrimination against our fellow citizens based on sexual orientation or identity. Our local government, funded by the taxpayers, should never be a party to such discrimination.

A month ago, an editorial in a local newspaper, while generally supportive of equal rights, expressed concern about the fiscal wisdom of Bill 37-09. But that concern was misplaced and misguided. Since only a small percentage of people in our community are gay, the fiscal impact on a given contractor would be negligible; and in this competitive environment, contractors' bids are not going to be higher because a small percentage oftheir workforce would be able to avail themselves of benefits already offered to their colleagues.

More to the point, however, is the following: What if members of a particular religious or ethnic group were discriminated against regarding work benefits, and the Council sought to require non-discrimination as a prerequisite to holding a County contract? I doubt that the editorialist would argue that the Council should refrain from acting because of the supposed potential cost or, as, the editorial put it, the danger of "government interference in the private sector." And that is really the crux of the matter. The County should not and would not contract with a company that engaged in religious or racial discrimination; nor we should use the public's tax money to contract with a company that discriminates based on sexual orientation.

In Montgomery County, we value all of our people. We should not have second-class citizens in Montgomery County. I want to thank Councilwoman Navarro for taking the lead on this legislation and to thank all of you for being steadfast supporters of equality for the LGBT members of our community.