(Bismarck, North Dakota) The North Dakota state House is expected to vote next week on a bill to amend the state Human Rights Act to include gays, lesbians and transgenders.

The law would protect the LGBT community from discrimination in employment, housing and credit.  It does, however, have a specific exemption for religious organizations.

North Dakota law already bans discrimination by race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin and disability. The law also prohibits discrimination based on whether a person is on public assistance, married or unmarried. 

Supporters and opponents of the bill crammed into the House Human Services Committee for a hearing this week.

Rep. Kathy Hawken (R) told the committee that she intended to vote for the bill.

“I want to prove to people that we’re not narrow-minded,” she said.

Another witness, Susanna Magstadt, a 34-year-old lesbian mother of three, said she has been turned down for jobs because of her sexual orientation.

“I’ve never lost my job for wearing glasses or being left-handed. I have lost my job for being gay,” she told committee members.

But opponents of the measure said it would grant special rights.

“[It] grants special status to the limited few, at the expense of many,  said Tom Freier, a spokesperson for the North Dakota Family Alliance.