A liberal church movement based in Texas has launched a campaign that is “designed to ask people whether Jesus would discriminate against others,” according to PinkNews.

The Would Jesus Discriminate? movement launched its campaign on the web by quoting a series of Biblical passages suggesting Jesus never discriminated against gays.

The DFW Metropolitan Community Churches, which have five chapters in the Texas area, say they provide an alternative to the perceived discrimination and intolerance from “religious institutions [which] have used their interpretation of the Bible to justify discrimination against women, ethnic minorities, and people with a different sexual orientation and/or identity issues.”

The Anchorage Assembly approved the ban 7-4, one vote short of being able to override a veto.

Read the full, depressingly familiar story in the New York Times.

The vote falls one short of the eight-vote supermajority needed to override a mayoral veto. Mayor Dan Sullivan has seven days to decide. He has said he has not yet made a decision.

The bill passed after two months of discussion and a compromise that included exemptions for religious institutions, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

Opponents of the bill, who wore red, had argued that gay people are not discriminated against; they also said that they worried that MTF transgendered people would then be able to use women’s restrooms.

The Assembly members who voted yes brought up gays and lesbians who they are close to. One mentioned that the Assembly voted to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination in Anchorage in 1976 – that bill was vetoed by then-mayor George Sullivan, the current mayor’s father.

Both the House and Senate passed the bill last night within an hour each other. Supporters of the bill have been fighting for over a decade to get the bill to pass.

“It protects the most basic activities of human life — moving about the world, earning a living, keeping a roof over your head,” said Drewry Fennell, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Delaware. “Now the state has said you can’t be discriminated against because of sexual orientation.”

Delaware’s current anti-discrimination law covers housing, employment, public works contracting, public accommodations and insurance. Five bills similar to the one that recently passed have passed in the House but were stalled in the Senate.

A bill very similar to the current one was passed by the House in March, but the late Sen. Thurman Adams would not let it be brought to the full Senate. Opponents of the bill have said that “sexual liberties” are granted in spite of their religious beliefs.

The bill now awaits the signature of Gov. Jack Markell to be made law.

Read the full Delaware Online story here.

There was hope last month that the bill would make it to the House floor for a vote when it passed the first required committee – the House State Government Committee – but when it moved to the Appropriations Committee, it stalled.

Even if it makes it to the full House, where Democrats have a majority, and is approved, it would still have to face a GOP-controlled Senate.

While it languishes in the Appropriations Committee, amendments keep being added.  To date there are over 40, a number of them aimed at excluding church-based operations and businesses.

Current Pennsylvania law provides basic legal protection against discrimination on the bases of race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, handicap or disability, education and the use of a guide dog.

Thirteen Pennsylvania municipalities have already enacted civil rights laws including protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. State College also has an ordinance that  covers sexual orientation discrimination in housing and employment.

But nearly 80 percent of the state’s 12 million residents live or work in communities that do not provide these protections.

Twenty states in the country have similar laws, including Pennsylvania’s neighboring states of New Jersey, Maryland and New York.

In addition, all of the Fortune 500 companies that are headquartered in Pennsylvania have LGBT protections, as do 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies nationwide.

Still, Philadelphia-based LGBT rights group Equality Advocates said it receives about 600 phone calls a year from people complaining of discrimination.

It would amend the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression” as protected classes. The bill, introduced by Rep. Dan Frankel (D) has 79 co-sponsors from both parties and from across the commonwealth.

“This legislation is critical to thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Pennsylvanians who are trying to work and have a roof over their heads, and it enjoys substantial support from Pennsylvanians from every corner of the Commonwealth,” said Jake Kaskey, policy and outreach coordinator of Equality Advocates Pennsylvania.

“At a time when more and more people across the state find themselves unemployed, we need to make sure every Pennsylvanian who wants to work has a fair chance at work,” Kaskey added.

The bill is expected to go to the House State Government Committee, where it has been assigned in the past.

“We are very encouraged by the record number of legislators who have signed on as co-sponsors of this bill and we think it is a good sign for future progress,” added Andy Hoover, legislative director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania.

Current Pennsylvania law provides basic legal protection against discrimination on the bases of race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, handicap or disability, education and the use of a guide dog. 

Thirteen Pennsylvania municipalities have already enacted civil rights laws including protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. State College also has an ordinance that only covers sexual orientation discrimination in housing and employment. 

But nearly 80  percent of the state’s 12 million residents live or work in communities that do not provide these protections. 

Twenty states in the country have similar laws, including Pennsylvania’s neighboring states of New Jersey, Maryland and New York.

The legislation would bar discrimination in employment, housing or public accommodation on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. It also would expand the definition of hate crimes in Ohio to include the LGBT community.

The council unanimously agreed to send a letter to state lawmakers calling for passage of the measure, which was introduced in March. The measure has the bipartisan support of 10 state enators and 18 state representatives who have signed on as co-sponsors.

But since the bill’s introduction, no hearings have been scheduled. Sen. Dale Miller (D) is the main sponsor in the Senate. Miller has introduced similar measures in the past only to see them die.

If the bill passes, Gov. Ted Strickland has indicated he will sign it.

A survey taken for Equality Ohio found that two-thirds of Ohioans favor employment and housing laws that make it illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Twenty-one states already have similar laws.

Within Ohio, 11 of the state’s four-year public colleges and 16 cities and villages – including Columbus – have ordinances that protect their LGBT citizens.

More than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies have implemented similar policies.