It was standing room only for Tuesday night’s Piedmont City Council Meeting. Most of the two hour meeting was comprised of a public debate, filled with raw emotion, concerning the recent plea to the council to ban discrimination based on one’s sexual orientation.
In the previous meeting, local resident Brett Shields, called on the council to pass a resolution supporting fair and equal treatment of all persons, including those of the LGBT community. Because Shields was unable to attend last night’s meeting, fellow resident Melody Studdard spoke on the behalf of the local LGBT community, reading a speech written by Piedmont youth Karter Cherry.
Cherry quietly listened as citizens and faith leaders in attendance spoke against the requested measure, citing the Bible and their Christian faith for their opposition. Some even compared the homosexual lifestyle with drug addiction and bank robbery, asking if the council would consider protecting those lifestyles as well.
“Do you think bank-robbing, would that be a sin?” said Rodney Ragsdale, pastor at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church, adding that “Nobody has no problem in saying that’s wrong. Could we get a resolution saying we won’t discriminate against bank robbers?”
Another citizen argued, “If we add sexual orientation on there, the next thing drug addicts will want to be on there.”
Cherry eventually spoke to the packed house, arguing that while these other lifestyles were choices, being a lesbian was not.
Mayor Billy Baker thanked everyone for their comments, but said that he does not believe that Piedmont currently discriminates in any way; therefore, the proposed resolution would not be necessary.
Baker also expressed his concern over the fact that there is currently no such laws on the books on the state or national level. City attorney Ron Allen agreed, adding that if municipalities “all enact their own anti-discrimination policies, you’re going to get a hodgepodge of legal entanglements.”
No action was taken on the measure at Tuesday’s meeting, but Studdard who asked to be placed on the agenda for the August 18th meeting, told the council “I know too many kids who need somebody to stand up for them.”
Maybe the third time will be a charm, concerning whether to move the historic Ruby Roberts House to a property soon to be owned by the city of Piedmont.
After first agreeing to donate the land to the Piedmont Historical Society, the council voted, at the previous meeting, to back out of the deal over legal concerns. Believing that the measure failed to pass due to four council members abstaining from the vote, City Clerk Michelle Franklin later learned, that the two lone “Yes” votes was indeed enough for the measure to pass.
However at last night’s meeting, with a 4-3 vote, the council once again agreed to sell the land to the society, pending the sale of the property to the city from Norfolk Railroad. This time, though, the city will be selling only the parcel of land where the house will sit.
Bills for payment were approved in the amount of $272,339.31 in addition to a payroll amount of $126,571.25 for a total of $398,910.56.
The council agreed to declare a property on Morgan Avenue a public nuisance as the next step in the abatement process.
Also, the council unanimously agreed to vacate a cul-de-sac on Crimson Trail at the request of a Piedmont couple, who plan to build a house at the end of the street.
The next regular Piedmont City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 18th, at 6 pm.