Civil Rights Law Adopted. Again.

The Bethlehem civil rights law was adopted unanimously tonight. Again.

City Council required a “do-over” of the Human Relations Ordinance vote it took on June 21 because, its solicitor ruled, it had made a in voting on one of the bills proposed amendments, potentially invalidating every vote that came after it including the vote to adopt the law itself.

Once it is signed into law by Mayor John Callahan next week, it will be illegal to discriminate in the city in housing, employment and public accommodation on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ancestry, national origin, handicap, the need to use a guide or support animal.

Callahan has already announced that he plans to sign the bill into law in a special ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Town Hall.

The Bethlehem law differs from the state Human Relations Law in that it includes gays, lesbians and transgender people as protected classes.

It also establishes a new Human Relations Commission, which will be charged with investigating and adjudicating discrimination complaints in the city.

That means that those who make complaints, or are asked to defend themselves against complaints, will not have to appear before the state Human Relations Commission in Harrisburg.

The point about empowering this commission with investigatory powers was once again briefly debated, as City Councilman David DiGiacinto cautioned fellow council members on broader implications.

“I just hope everyone understands exactly what we’re getting into with this,” he said.

Karen Dolan said the commission should have teeth to enforce the city’s law not to discriminate. “It’s not about how you live your life,” she said. “It’s about business.”

Council voted 5-2 against an amendment by Councilman Eric Evans to eliminate so-called “expanded powers” from the commission, with DiGiacinto and Evans dissenting.

It was this particular amendment where the procedural error was made on June 21, so the agenda from that night picked up from that point.

Council voted 4-3 to grant those powers, with DiGiacinto, Evans and Councilwoman Jean Belinski dissenting.

Council also was split on the language that exempts religious organizations from following the law. The majority favored language similar to the state law, while DiGiacinto, Evans and Council President Robert Donchez favored language proposed by a lawyer from the Catholic Diocese of Allentown that civil rights proponents claimed was too broad.

One public speaker before the vote said she was concerned that the law would infringe on her religious freedoms. Gertrude Reif of Bethlehem said she believes the law promotes sexual relations outside of traditional marriage, which is something she disagrees with.

Unlike the previous four meetings in which this issue was discussed, Town Hall was not filled beyond capacity as about 20 spectators, mostly bill supporters, were on hand. There were only two speakers before council dove into the agenda.

With the ordinance adoption, Bethlehem becomes the 21^st city in Pennsylvania to have a similar Human Relations Law with the same protected classes, joining sister cities Allentown and Easton, which have had their own laws since 1964 and 2007, respectively. Allentown amended its law in 2002 to include gays, lesbians and transgender people on its list of protected classes.