Group to challenge Lincoln’s new discrimination ordinance

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A day after the Lincoln City Council passed an ordinance that expands the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance to include sexual orientation and gender identity, a conservative group filed a petition to get the issue on the ballot.

The council voted Monday night to revise a “fairness ordinance” that also includes the military and veterans as a protected class.

On Tuesday, the Nebraska Family Alliance filed a petition to let voters decide the issue.

The group would need 4,137 signatures to get the question on the ballot, said Lancaster County Election Commissioner Dave Shively.

In 2012, over 10,000 citizens signed a petition requiring the council to rescind the fairness ordinance or put it on the ballot. The council did neither, leaving the ordinance in limbo until Monday.

“Our message is simple,” the alliance’s statement said. “Let Us Vote. The Lincoln City Council should not be allowed to circumvent the will of the citizens of Lincoln.”