Is Flagstaff gay-friendly? (Sedona: buying, university, live)

[kdog]

I think the state laws are superfluous anyway. Federal EEO laws prohibit sexual discrimination.

[phxgreenfire]

Originally Posted by Ritchie_az

So just to be clear, Arizona does not have a law that says someone can discriminate based on sexual orientation. Arizona simply doesn't have a law that says you can't (along with about 2/3rds of the other states).
I'd be curious if there have been any cases where someone in Arizona was fired because of sexual orientation, filed a lawsuit and lost (or won).

Sorry, not a very good point you're raising. GLBT civil rights issues can be pretty polarizing: same-sex marriage, adoption, conversion camps, "Don't ask, don't tell" and so on...

If you have a firm stance opposing GLBT rights, what's to stop you from firing that person?

And come on, this is NOT a socially liberal or progressive place. It would have to be one of the last to pass a non-discrimination measure, legalize same-sex marriage, etc.

[phxgreenfire]

Originally Posted by kdog

I think the state laws are superfluous anyway. Federal EEO laws prohibit sexual discrimination.

Gender. Not gender identity, or sexual orientation. You can go as high as a state court if you have a case in a state in which sexual orientation and/or gender identity is covered in non-discrimination.

[kdog]

Let's be honest here. Discrimination laws mean squat. If an employer wants to discriminate against a person for any reason, they're going to find a way to do it, and good luck proving it. Age discrimination IS covered by EEO laws, and employers discriminate against older workers all the time. They just don't admit it. Try getting a job if you're over 50 and you'll see what I mean. If an employer wants to discriminate against you, you don't want to work for them anyway. Just move on to an employer who isn't so small minded. I live in a town that's smaller and more right-wing than Flagstaff, and there are gays in businesses all over town.

[Ritchie_az]

Originally Posted by phxgreenfire

Sorry, not a very good point you're raising. GLBT civil rights issues can be pretty polarizing: same-sex marriage, adoption, conversion camps, "Don't ask, don't tell" and so on...

If you have a firm stance opposing GLBT rights, what's to stop you from firing that person?

And come on, this is NOT a socially liberal or progressive place. It would have to be one of the last to pass a non-discrimination measure, legalize same-sex marriage, etc.

Huh? What point of mine was "not very good"? I simply re-stated the law that you already stated, but in a different way so that it would be easier to understand.

Then I said I would be interested if there were examples of actual cases in Arizona, so this arguement could go beyond just being academic. If you are aware of any please post.

[Yeledaf]

Originally Posted by kdog

Let's be honest here. Discrimination laws mean squat. If an employer wants to discriminate against a person for any reason, they're going to find a way to do it, and good luck proving it. Age discrimination IS covered by EEO laws, and employers discriminate against older workers all the time. They just don't admit it. Try getting a job if you're over 50 and you'll see what I mean. If an employer wants to discriminate against you, you don't want to work for them anyway. Just move on to an employer who isn't so small minded. I live in a town that's smaller and more right-wing than Flagstaff, and there are gays in businesses all over town.

You are entirely correct. Some people are jerks and many (thank goodness)are not. Such is life. I hate like heck saying it (because it's such a vapid cliche), but "it is what it is."

People need to just knock off the posturing and bellyaching and live their lives. You are never going to find perfection.

Don't like town/company/group/coffee shop/bar/restaurant/church/book club A? Take my advice -- move on to B through Z. Sooner or later you'll find a situation more congenial to your predispositions...

[phxgreenfire]

Originally Posted by Ritchie_az

Huh? What point of mine was "not very good"? I simply re-stated the law that you already stated, but in a different way so that it would be easier to understand.

Then I said I would be interested if there were examples of actual cases in Arizona, so this arguement could go beyond just being academic. If you are aware of any please post.

The way you wrote that insinuated that it's a ludicrous measure to enact an anti-discrimination law. I don't know why it even need a second explanation.

In any case, here are some examples put together by the Williams Institute at UCLA:
http://www2.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/programs/ENDA/Arizona%20Final.pdf (broken link)

[Ritchie_az]

Originally Posted by phxgreenfire

The way you wrote that insinuated that it's a ludicrous measure to enact an anti-discrimination law. I don't know why it even need a second explanation.

In any case, here are some examples put together by the Williams Institute at UCLA:
http://www2.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/programs/ENDA/Arizona%20Final.pdf (broken link)

I'm not arguing one way or the other whether there should or should not be a law. My point had to do with the question asked by the OP and then your warning to the OP that he can be fired.
First, only about 1/3rd of the states have some sort of anti-descrimination-based-on-sexual-orientation law, and 2/3rds don't. If having this law is a "must" for the OP, you provided him a link which shows which states have it. However, since most states don't have such a law, the OP would be significantly limiting his choices. That's good information and is up to the OP to decide.
Second, according to the other link you provided (thank you, btw), there have been six alleged (I use that word only because little information is actually given) cases since 2006, and five of those six would likely be protected under the current AZ anti-descrimination-based-on-sexual-orientation-for-public-employees law. That leaves the OP with one example (a transsexual at a community college who was not allowed to use the woman's restroom) to decide if there is really any risk of being "fired" for his or her sexual orientation.
If you ask me, the risk is 0 or a number really, really close to it.

[soccerscore]

Thank you all for the responce. Im actually coming from Wyoming, and I thought for sure it would be better in Flag, but from the sound of things, its pretty debatable.

[kdog]

Interesting that you're drawing conclusions from speculation by a couple of anonymous sources, and without having spoken with a single gay person from Flagstaff.