Fairfield council passes DEI resolution

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield City Council passed a resolution Monday adopting a statement of principles prepared by the city’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.

The council passed the resolution before a packed council chambers. Several members of the people spoke at the microphone, most in support of the resolution.

The council debated whether to approve the resolution or to delay the vote. Ultimately, four councilors voted in favor of approving the resolution that night, and three voted against. The four in favor were Paul Gandy, Tom Twohill, Martha Rasmussen and Elizabeth Estey. The three against were Katy Anderson, Judy Ham and Doug Flournoy.

The resolution states that the city of Fairfield believes in and stands for the values of “diversity, equity, fairness, inclusion and justice,” and that it condemns discrimination on the basis of “faith, race, sexual orientation, gender, nationality, age, immigration status, military status, class, ability.”

The resolution generated a stir at the Jan. 10 meeting when it was first brought to the council. Council member Judy Ham said she was “totally opposed to this,” and that “we’re putting a few people in charge of monitoring other people’s language, and that goes against all freedom of speech.”

At Monday’s council meeting, Fairfield resident Scarlet Riddle said she grew up in a highly religious Catholic community in South Carolina, and moved to Fairfield five years ago.

“I was raised to believe that anyone who was not straight was going to hell, but even as a child, I could not understand why,” Riddle said. “At the time, I thought God loved everyone.”

Riddle said she realized that she was a lesbian. She had the support of some of her friends, but others in the community suggested changing her sexual orientation through conversion therapy.

“I’m here to show you that discrimination is alive and well in this country,” she said. “I have been told by men that they can fix me. I have seen my trans friends told that they are not valid. My gay friends could not get married until as recently as 2015 when it was federally passed.”

Riddle urged the council members to pass the DEI Committee’s resolution to show “we cannot tolerate outdated opinions in this town.”

Resident Eric Schaffer argued against the idea that there is a link between pedophilia and homosexuality.

“Almost all pedophiles are men, and only a tiny fraction are homosexual,” he said. “It’s not true that [they’re] related. There is no ‘P’ in ‘LGBTQ.’”

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com