JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Missouri Nondiscrimination Act (MONA), which would add LGBT protections to Missouri's Human Rights Statute, will be heard by the Missouri House Civil and Criminal Proceedings Committee on Wednesday.
Introduced by Rep. Stephen Webber (D-Columbia), House Bill 407 would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of other protected categories, including race, sex, religion, and national origin prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing and public accomodations.
Over 1,000 businesses have signed on in support of MONA, including multiple Fortune 500 companies.
"It’s clear that there is a wide array of support to pass MONA," said Kyle Piccola, Senior Field Organizer with PROMO, Missouri's statewide LGBT advocacy organization. "The business community supports it, a majority of the citizens in Missouri support it, now it is time for the Missouri Legislature to support it.”
PROMO will be live Tweeting the hearing at #MONA15 and you can watch the hearing live at http://progressmissouri.org/livestream.
Equality Day, PROMO’s lobby day, is being held on April 22 at the Capitol (https://www.facebook.com/events/253565891589848/). The attendance is expected to be high this year.
The Missouri Nondiscrimination Act has been introduced in both chambers of the Missouri General Assembly since 1998.