Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow Introduces “Add the Words” Personal Bill
The well known bill called “Add the Words,” was read across the desk of the Idaho Senate today as a “personal” bill presented by Senate Democratic Leader, Melissa Wintrow, on behalf of the House and Senate Democrats. The bill would add the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to The Idaho Human Rights act, extending protection from discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations.
It was nine years ago, during Wintrow’s first term as a Representative in the House, that this bill was first introduced and after years of pleading, finally received a hearing that lasted several days with over 21 hours of personal testimony.
Reflecting on that hearing in 2015 and on current events, Wintrow lamented what she saw as the growing hostility towards the LGBTQ community and a lack of real attention on protecting personal freedoms for all Idahoans.
“My legislative career started in a committee room with that excitement, fighting to advance a bill for the betterment of Idahoans and their rights, and now so much of my time in the committee room is spent fighting against bill after bill, where the rights of the LGBTQ+ community are being eroded and attacked, creating great sadness and fear in the community. No one should have to live in fear of losing their job or housing because of who they are or who they love.
Being a teenager can be hard enough, to have a government that not only shirks its duty to you but makes your life harder is unacceptable and against Idaho’s values. Idahoans believe in fairness, in freedom, and in making sure our kids feel safe to be who they are. Our kids deserve to grow up in a state where they can see themselves living their whole lives, not a place they have to flee.
I want LGBTQ+ Idahoans to know that you deserve a world where you thrive, not one where you are merely trying to survive.”
While Senator Wintrow’s bill will not get a hearing today, it is her hope and many others’ that Idaho will return to its grounding principles for individual freedom and Add the Words.