Texas city could be first in nation to rescind LGBTQ+ antidiscrimination protections

A city in Texas could become the first in the nation to reverse its anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people.

The Arlington City Council will vote on a revised ordinance Tuesday evening, obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which would remove “gender identity and expression” and “sexual orientation” as protected characteristics. The vote comes after the council temporarily suspended the clause in September due to threats from Donald Trump's administration.

Arlington's current antidiscrimination ordinance prohibits “any direct or indirect exclusion, distinction, segregation, limitation, refusal, denial, or other differentiation in the treatment of a person or persons because of a race, color, national origin, age, religion, sex, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Related: Federal judge in Texas rules LGBTQ+ people can be discriminated against at work

Trump officials threatened early last month to revoke $65 million in federal grant money from the city if it did not remove language related to diversity, equity, and inclusion from its municipal code. Both Arlington and Fort Worth subsequently voted to end their DEI programs and rewrite ordinances to exclude phrases related to race and gender.

Iowa removed gender identity from its state Civil Rights Act in February, making it the first state in the country to take away rights from a group previously protected in law. If the ordinance in Arlington passes, it would be the first individual city to do so.

Arlington Pride has called on residents to attend the city council meeting if they wish to voice their opposition to the reversal. The group said in a statement posted to social media that "we won't go backwards."

Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified Arlington, Virginia.