Bloomington,
Ind., approves protections for transgender people

The city council of Bloomington, Ind., voted unanimously to approve adding protections for transgender people to the city's human rights ordinance. Unlike last week's council meeting, when several supporters and opponents debated the proposal, only one person voiced opposition before Wednesday night's vote. Under the amendment, gender identity is defined as "a person's actual or perceived gender-related attributes, self-image, appearance, expression, or behavior, whether or not such characteristics differ from those traditionally associated with the person's assigned sex at birth." Bloomington is now at least the second Indiana city with such an ordinance, as the Indianapolis city-county council approved similar protections in December. Bree Hartlage, who has pushed for the Bloomington ordinance as a representative of transgender people, said including gender identity is a move toward equal rights for all residents. (AP)