Springfield Missouri Anti-gay ordinance likely to fall later this summer...
It shall be unlawful for any person in a public place to invite, entice, persuade or to address a person of the same sex for the purpose of inviting, enticing or persuading such person to commit sodomy. Sodomy means any sexual act involving the genitals of one person and the mouth, tongue, hand or anus of another person. - Sec. 78-224
This ordinance was adopted in 1976, likely in the hey day of Anita Bryant's crusade attacking gay rights across the US. Springfield council member Doug Burlison has asked the City Attorney Dan Wichmer to draw up language to remove the ordinance, a move that could eventually be voted on by the council."My primary concern is that it's a bad law. It targets a specific population of our citizenship," Burlison told the News Leader.
City Attorney Wichmer told the News Leader the ordinance is unconstitutional and has not been enforced in years. According to News-Leader archives, police initiated a crackdown in 1999 in Phelps Grove Park and at Lake Springfield, arresting five men.
You can help by sending a short email to Springfield Missouri Council telling them how important it is they remove this discriminatory ordinance. Send your email to the City Clerk and a copy to Councilmember Doug Burlison.
Reminder: Its always a good idea to be assertive and polite in your communications.
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City Clerk, Brenda Cirtin
Busch Municipal Building
Fourth Floor
840 Boonville Avenue
Springfield, MO 65802
417.864.1650
bcirtin@springfieldmo.gov
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Councilmember, Doug Burlison
Busch Municipal Building
Fourth Floor
840 Boonville Avenue
Springfield, MO 65802
City Hall: 417.865.7175
Fax: 417.864.1649
dburlison@springfieldmo.gov
Gay and Lesbian Community Center of the Ozarks
518 E. Commercial, Springfield, MO 65803
Phone: 417-869-3978
Fax: 417-831-6063
Web Address: www.glocenter.org
E-mail Address: glocenter@glocenter.org
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