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March Today in Wheeling Precedes LGBT Discussion

WHEELING — Those in support of equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents will gather at Heritage Port Wednesday for a march of solidarity.

The march comes a day before a public work session between Wheeling City Council and the city Human Rights Commission on Thursday. This session will host discussion of what a possible ordinance establishing specific protections for LGBT residents may look like in the Friendly City.

The commission passed a resolution in July urging council to consider such action, and the move has drawn harsh criticism from some residents. Council’s most recent meeting, held Aug. 16, set the stage for dissent from six residents who claimed governments already overregulate society, and who questioned the general need for a protected LGBT class.

Wednesday’s march is organized by the Eclosion Anarchist Collective, a group based in the Northern Panhandle driven to speak against “all that dominates free thinking and limits the fantastic potential of life.” Co-organizer Dan Persina previously said the march is a means to organize like-minded individuals not represented by those who spoke before city council.

The march will begin at Heritage Port at 4 p.m. and make its way to Another World on Market Street, where speakers and musicians will perform.

Thursday’s public work session is the next step in a process which may eventually result in a protective ordinance, although exactly what this ordinance may entail is still undetermined. Mayor Glenn Elliott has said it could likely establish employment and housing rights for the LGBT community within Wheeling.

A Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Family Policy Council of West Virginia claimed this ordinance has already been drafted and has been hidden from residents. Elliott and other city officials have denied this multiple times.

“Everything is pure speculation until we have this conversation Thursday,” 6th Ward Councilman Dave Palmer said.

Palmer stressed Thursday’s session is meant strictly to be a conversation between council and the human rights commission. He said it is not intended as an opportunity for public input, noting if council decides to move forward with an LGBT ordinance following Thursday’s meeting, residents will have the opportunity to have their say.

Third Ward Councilman Brian Wilson said the matter is certainly a sensitive subject for the community, and it does not deserve a rash decision. He isn’t shaken by the slight pushback council has received and said he’s excited to take part in a conversation which matters to many residents.

Steve Novotney, a human rights commission member, believes his No. 1 question will be answered Thursday, and that’s whether city council will act on the commission’s recommendation.

“I truly believe, along with my colleagues on the human rights commission, that all Americans should live fairly under the Constitution,” Novotney said.

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