In last Tuesday night's Town Council meeting, the Town of Mount Pleasant voted to approve a resolution that adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected classes in the town's HR policy as it relates to who can be hired and what is qualified as harassment.
“We are grateful to Mt. Pleasant's Human Resources department and elected leaders for adding these important protections to the town's HR policy,” Chase Glenn, the executive director of The Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA), said. “Explicitly stating their commitment to hire without bias in regards to a person's sexual orientation and gender identity, and updating its harassment policy to prohibit harassment because of a person's LGBTQ identity sends a strong message of equality and acceptance to the town's 700 employees and the broader community. Protections like these are an important step on our journey toward full acceptance and equality.”
AFFA co-founder and former vice president Charlie Smith said, “We thank Mayor Haynie and the Mt. Pleasant Town Council for voting to protect LGBTQ citizens from discrimination in municipal employment. This is an important step forward by one of our state’s leading municipalities toward leveling the playing field for all of its citizens.”
Over the past decade, AFFA has worked with towns and cities across the Lowcountry, advocating for full acceptance of LGBTQ community members. In 2009, AFFA joined forces with SC Stonewall Democrats, SC Log Cabin Republicans, ACLU of South Carolina and South Carolina Equality to present and pass a non-discrimination ordinance protecting individuals based on their sexual orientation in housing and public accommodations. In 2012, AFFA advocated for the Folly Beach City Council to approve a public accommodations ordinance protecting individuals based on their sexual orientation.
To learn more about AFFA's advocacy work throughout the Lowcountry, visit affa-sc.org.
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Press Release from AFFA
