Tippecanoe Co. adds transgender antidiscrimination law

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Tippecanoe County has joined the cities of Lafayette and West Lafayette in adding gender identity protections to its human rights ordinance.

The county commissioners voted 3-0 Monday to approve an amendment adding the protections. The move came less than two weeks after the Lafayette City Council approved similar protections for transgender people.

The (Lafayette) Journal & Courier reports (http://on.jconline.com/2cWQBpT ) program director Skye Brown of the Trans Lafayette advocacy group dismissed arguments that transgender people would use the protections to harass others in restrooms.

Susan Blake spoke against the amendment, saying it would subject children to "social experimentation."

The local approvals come amid a national debate over a North Carolina law that requires transgender people to use restrooms at schools and government buildings corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates.

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Information from: Journal and Courier, http://www.jconline.com