The ACLU of Idaho strongly opposes House Bill 557 — an effort to eliminate non-discrimination ordinances (NDOs), which provide critically important protections for LGBTQ+ people. These are necessary because absent an NDO, Idahoans have few state or federal protections against discrimination based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.
Already, a dozen Idaho cities and two counties have enacted NDOs to affirm that all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, deserve equal treatment in workplaces, public spaces, and when renting or buying a home.
The data demonstrates the extensive negative effects HB 557 would have:
- HB 557 would remove rights for a significant number of Idahoans. More than 720,000 people live in Idaho cities and counties with NDOs, meaning around 36% of the state’s population would lose local legal protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
- HB 557 would hurt our economy. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Idaho cities with NDOs employ 41.7% of the state’s workers. The Boise City Metropolitan Area, which currently has NDO protections, had a total GDP of about $55.3 billion in 2023. By removing these safeguards, the LGBTQ+ community risks being denied jobs, housing, and access to local businesses, ultimately preventing them from contributing to the local economy and making it harder for employers to attract workers in competitive markets.
Government Overreach
The bill would force cities and counties that already have NDOs to remove them, and bar cities and counties from enacting them in the future.
This is yet another instance of the state attempting to hoard power to itself. Cities and counties should not be stripped of their local power to implement policies that appropriately address the needs of their residents.
Community Harm
Retroactively removing city or county-level anti-discrimination protections and preventing local government from enacting future protections would create real harm to LGBTQ+ folks in Idaho.
Absent an NDO, LGBTQ+ individuals, parents, and families are at risk of being denied service in businesses, restaurants and other public accommodations.
When civil rights are whittled away for a subsection of the population, such as LGBTQ+ people, the hostile environment created often leads to increased anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Rates of mental health issues go up among LGBTQ+ people as protections for them disappear.
We implore our elected officials to protect our civil rights and freedoms, not erode them.
Current Idaho cities and counties with NDO protections for LGBTQ+ Idahoans:
- Ada County: passed in 2020
- Latah County: passed in 2015 (only applies to county employees)
- Boise: passed in 2012
- Ketchum: passed in 2013
- Moscow: passed in 2013
- Coeur d'Alene: passed in 2013. Coeur d’Alene also passed an ordinance in 2024 that increases protections for victims of hate crimes.
- Pocatello: passed in 2013
- Lewiston: passed in 2014
- Victor: passed in 2014
- Driggs: passed in 2015
- Hailey: passed in 2015
- Bellevue: passed in 2015
- Meridian: passed in 2018
- Idaho Falls: passed in 2020 and includes public accommodations protections