Opponents of anti-gay discrimination ordinance forcing it to a vote

It looks as if the Fred Phelps group is at it again. Last November, the Topeka City Council narrowly approved an ordinance prohibiting bias in city hiring or employment based on sexual orientation. Many were disappointed in the ordinance and hoped that the council would enact a broader ordinance against discrimination in housing and accommodations.

Now that it passed, some in the community are trying to not only roll it back but will try to prevent council members from passing a similar one in the future.

TOPEKA, Kan. - Less than two months after the Topeka City Council approved an ordinance banning discrimination against homosexuals in city hiring, opponents have collected enough signatures to force the city to either rescind the ordinance or put it to a citywide vote. [...]

Petitioners filed the signatures for review by the elections office on Dec. 15. Shirley Phelps-Roper, a member of Westboro Baptist Church, which spearheaded the petition drive, said the petitions contained 6,333 names. The central Topeka church, led by the Rev. Fred Phelps Sr., pickets across the nation, carrying signs with slogans such as, “God hates fags.” [...]

If approved, the measure would not only rescind the ordinance but try to prevent council members from passing a similar one in the future. [...]

Councilwoman Tiffany Muller, who helped sponsor the original measure, said she hoped voters would learn more about the measure before casting their ballots. She said many people who signed the petition didn’t understand what it did and said they were tricked into signing it.

County Election Commissioner Elizabeth Ensley said 64 people asked that their names be removed from the petition after it was submitted. (source)