(Conor Bright Eyes) Oberst: Don't block anti-bias law [View all]

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20120124/NEWS01/701249838#oberst-don-t-block-anti-bias-law

Photo: http://www.omaha.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=OW&Date=20120124&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=701249838&Ref=AR&maxw=490&maxh=275
Conor Oberst helped in the fight against an immigration law in Fremont and now he's asking the Legislature not to hinder an effort to pass an anti-bias ordinance in Omaha.


By Paul Hammel

LINCOLN — A group of Omaha musicians, including Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, is calling on state lawmakers to pull the plug on a proposal that would ban Omaha and other communities from passing anti-discrimination ordinances.

In a letter Tuesday, Oberst and 16 other musicians called it "deplorable and unacceptable" to attempt to block Omaha City Councilman Ben Gray from winning passage of an ordinance to ban discrimination against homosexual and transgender people. Gray has said he would propose such an ordinance this month or next.

State Sen. Beau McCoy of Omaha has introduced a proposal, Legislative Bill 912, that would bar cities from passing such ordinances. He has said such anti-discrimination bans should be done on a statewide basis, not city by city.

But the musicians said passage of such a proposal would deter creative people from exploring opportunities in Omaha and could convince some gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people to leave the community.

FULL story at link.

You should have heard him talk about W at an Omaha concert several years ago when he was asked not to do it!