Denver Councilmember Blasts Anti-Queer Denver Rescue Mission Policy

Denver City Councilmember Robin Kniech blasted Denver Rescue Mission Monday for a new policy prohibiting employees from acting on urges to have queer sex. Denver Rescue mission has now agreed to remove this language from its handbook.

The Mission, a private nonprofit, enjoys tens of millions of dollars in contracts with the city. The Mission provides shelter and food for people experiencing homelessness.

An emotional Kniech also pointed out she would be leaving the meeting early to attend a Denver vigil for those killed in a Colorado Springs mass shooting overnight Sunday.

“I’m profoundly troubled by reports of a Denver Rescue Mission employee handbook that could result in employees having to choose between their sexual orientation, gender identity, or their jobs serving people experiencing homelessness in Denver,” Kniech says during Monday night’s City Council meeting. “It has been a long-settled matter in Colorado and Denver that discrimination isn’t only wrong, it is illegal in many circumstances.”

Contracts Must Abide by Non-Discrimination Rules

Kniech, a lawyer, pointed out that nonprofits with city contracts must adhere to non-discrimination policies. ”In fact, with an eye toward full inclusion and protection of LGBTQ residents and workers, I closely monitor Denver’s social service contract provisions to ensure they stay up to date,” she says. “I’ve worked with our agencies to ensure these policies don’t just live in file cabinets. Only due to the brave individual who shared it and Denverite’s reporting did I become aware of a concerning employment policy.”

Denverite reported last week on the Rescue Mission’s new policy. “It’s our City Attorney’s role to analyze how City law and policies apply to particular situations, and the role of the Mayor’s Administration to ensure every contractor is in compliance,” Kniech says. “Additional public officials administer state and local non-discrimination laws and would be responsible for ensuring any employees providing public services with taxpayer funds are protected from discrimination under all applicable law.”

When Hate Turns to Violence

But the importance of LGBTQ rights extended Monday beyond the technical, Kniech says. “Today is Transgender Day of Awareness, where we recognize transgender individuals taken before their time by violence. And today, we awoke to the news of five lives lost and 25 injured at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs. My heart aches for the victims of this trauma, those who were killed, injured, and traumatized. I stand in solidarity with the survivors in their long journey of recovery.”

A man entered the Colorado Springs nightclub early Sunday with a long rifle and opened fire. “While we await news on that shooter’s motive, what is known is that vitriolic political rhetoric and attacks on LGBTQ people’s right to exist and our ability to function as members of our community fuels hatred and violence,” Kniech says. “Leaders cannot seek to erase, exclude from schools, or fire LGBTQ people from employment and then expect followers to respect our human dignity. We must recognize the dehumanizing impact of discrimination and its connection to violence. Today provides a grim opportunity for those who may not have understood that connection previously to choose a different path in their own policies and practices.”