The Lawrence City Commission has moved to make gender identity a specially protected class, like race or gender. Under the ordinance, landlords, employers, and businesses will not be allowed to “discriminate” against people who reject the gender of their birth. Opponents of the ordinance pointed to the implications this policy would have for matters as seemingly small as public restrooms, to the religious liberty of individuals whose views on human sexuality are now held by the city of Lawrence to be a form of bigotry.