GOSHEN -- Controversy is brewing over a four-word addition the Goshen City Council will consider adding tonight to the city's civil rights ordinance.

The addition would add "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the list of other classes of people protected against discrimination. The change applies to access to housing, real-estate acquisition, education, employment and access to public accommodations.

Opponents of the measure argue that it grants special rights, while supporters say it merely prevents discrimination.

"The fact that a conservative Republican would sign on with a liberal Democrat, they'll wonder why I'm doing that. I'm not endorsing anything, other than I'm anti-discrimination," said Chic Lantz, who co-sponsored it with Jeremy Stutsman.

"I'm not endorsing anything homosexual," Lantz said. "As far as I'm concerned it's strictly a discrimination call, not a moral thing."

What the changes won't do, according to the councilmen:

* Regulate hiring within churches or other religious institutions, which are exempt under the First Amendment.

* Legalize gay marriage.

* Require businesses grant domestic-partner benefits to employees.

* Create hiring quotas or force affirmative action.

Both men said they know the move won't sit well with some people. "A lot of people are going to make more out of this than it is," Stutsman said. "It's not a religious thing, it's not a marriage thing. It's about basic human rights. Human is human."

Stutsman said by Monday morning, misinformation was being spread by WFRN. The radio station posted on its Web site that "The city of Goshen may be headed down the slippery slope of giving special rights to homosexuals and cross-dressers," -- though there's no mention of clothing in the ordinance -- and claimed the ordinance "would set up special rights and privileges for people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity ... It could also force Christian employers and ministries that have at least six people to hire homosexuals."

Stutsman said WFRN was just plain wrong. "There is no special treatment. This is stuff that most of us are already covered under. Race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin and ancestry are already covered. This is adding a group to a list that already exists, it's not a new list. This is a group that doesn't get special treatment. It's a fair playing field across the board."

Stutsman also reiterated that religious institutions aren't subject to the requirements because of their First Amendment freedoms.

The radio station also claimed State Rep. Wes Culver, a Goshen resident, is "getting state and national pro-family groups together to fight it."

Culver, though, said that's not the case. "This is a city issue," he said. Speaking as a city resident and not as a representative, he said he has concerns, but that he's not organizing any opposition. "I think it's reverse discrimination against our religious groups. Right now there is nothing preventing a gay person being hired," but he worries that changing the civil rights ordinance "could dictate to churches gay people being hired. It's like the camel's nose under the tent."

Eric Kanagy, a Goshen businessman who is one of the people who asked for the change, said, "This really has nothing to do with whether or not being gay is right or wrong, whether or not we should have gay marriage, it has to do with discrimination in the workplace is happening and to make a statement that it's not OK to discriminate within the city of Goshen." The "camel's nose" concern wasn't his intent in asking for the change, he said. "I wouldn't say it's a progression in that it's heading anywhere."

He pointed out:

* More than three dozen local employers already have internal policies which prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity;

* Many large companies in Indiana have similar policies;

* Indianapolis and Bloomington include sexual orientation and gender identity in their civil rights ordinances;

* Lafayette, West Lafayette, Michigan City, Fort Wayne and Tippecanoe County all prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation;

* Gov. Mitch Daniels issued a policy statement in 2005 preventing sexual orientation and gender from being a consideration in employment status of state employees.

"This isn't something that's highly controversial in my mind," Kanagy said.

He, Lantz and Stutsman all expect a vigorous debate, but Kanagy said WFRN "looks like they're taking on a larger issue, and that's not what this was about."

Michelle Marquis, the other person who asked for the change, said, "Goshen is near and dear to my heart, and I like the idea of it being a place where we can agree to disagree on things and yet not have people discriminated based on things that are not relative to their job performance or who they are as a person." A lot of people -- and their extended families -- spend a lot of energy hiding things out of fear, she said.

"I have experienced firsthand what it feels like to be in fear of losing a job due to my sexual orientation. The energy that it takes to constantly monitor what you are saying in conversation, which pronoun to use, and determining who it's OK to be seen with in the community so that nobody knows, is immense," Marquis said. That energy, she said, "could better be used for other things in our community."

THE MEETING

The Goshen City Council will consider potential changes to the city's civil rights ordinance at its meeting this evening and has been asked to pass it on first and second readings tonight.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the council chambers upstairs at 111 E. Jefferson St.