Cheyenne Mayor Rick Kaysen says he wouldn't support an ordinance similar to the one passed in Laramie in May banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Councilwoman Annette Williams says she plans to sponsor a similar ordinance in Cheyenne in the next month or so.  The Laramie ordinance carries potential penalties of up to a $750 fine and/or a six month jail sentence for people found guilty of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, housing or public accommodations.

The mayor, while noting he hasn't seen Williams proposal in writing yet, says he has some problems with the ordinance passed in Laramie, adding, ''I cannot support that."  Kaysen says he has concerns about ''interference by government in various walks of life."

He goes on to say, ''How do we tell you how to run a business, who you should hire, who you should not hire, disciplinary problems and that type of thing?"  The mayor says he has similar concerns about people's personal lives as well as those who have religious objections to homosexuality.

Williams says the law is needed to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people from discrimination, including the possibility of being fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

She says while people are currently protected from discrimination because of race, religion or gender, there are no such protections for the LGBT community.

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