HomeMy WebLinkAboutNon-Discrimination Public Comment from Vanessa Naive, 4-28-14 From: Vanessa Naive [mailto:vnaive@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, April 28, 2014 4:16 PM
To: Agenda
Subject: Please Support the Non Discrimination Ordinance
To The City Commissioners of Bozeman, MT,
I am a cis-gendered, straight, atheist, white female. I have been afforded most of the
privileges of a modern society —two parents who have been together my whole life, a
wonderful younger brother, a degree in four years, and a full time job in my current
field. I've never had the system stacked against me, other than a few times when
dealing with those that have a different faith than I do, which pales in comparison to
what I see my beloved friends and family in the LGBT movement go through every
day.
I didn't love Montana until I moved to Bozeman. When I moved here, I realized that
there is a beautifully diverse array of people from all walks of life. What I love about
Bozeman is the fact that we are strong as a community, and that, as I saw it, were
much more accepting than where I came from.
When I worked at a local hotel in town, two young, attractive men walked in as the
owner was training me. They booked through Expedia, and on the form, it said one
queen bed.
I remember being nervous, not knowing how my owner would respond. Instead of
disgust, instead of turning them away, she simply asked if it was correct, a standard
procedure with online bookings. I won't ever forget the look of nervousness breaching
fear as they answered it was correct.
With a smile, we proceeded with check-in and thanked them for choosing the hotel.
After that, she turned to me and said, "You never want to assume anything about
anybody, because no matter what, the fact that they chose our hotel to stay in and we
can provide a service to them is what makes me happy."
The fair housing laws prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex,
national origin, disability, and familial status. Notice how it does not include sexual
orientation. We could have easily kicked those two men out and showed them that