Arlington Poised to Become First U.S. City to Reverse LGBTQ+ Anti-Discrimination Protections

The City Council of Arlington, Texas, will vote Tuesday evening on a proposal to revise its anti-discrimination ordinance by removing explicit protections for “Gender Identity and Expression” and “Sexual Orientation”. This decision follows the council’s September suspension of the entire ordinance, citing concerns about potential conflicts with new federal guidance issued by the U.S. Attorney General during President Donald Trump’s second term. If the council approves the revision, Arlington would become the first city in the U.S. to formally rescind LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination protections—reversing a significant policy milestone reached just four years earlier.

Arlington first established explicit protections for LGBTQ+ people in June 2021, amending its Fair Housing Code and adopting a chapter of the city code prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, employment, and public accommodations. These protections extended the city’s anti-discrimination framework beyond the original text of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which does not explicitly name LGBTQ+ identities as protected classes.

On September 2, 2025, the Arlington City Council voted 6-2 to temporarily suspend the anti-discrimination ordinance, after city officials warned that maintaining these local protections could put approximately $65 million in annual federal funding at risk under a new executive order from President Trump’s administration. The order, issued on the first day of Trump’s second term, directed local governments to suspend “radical and wasteful government programs,” with officials interpreting this as a requirement to halt or revise local diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and ordinances.

Following the suspension, City Attorney Molly Shortall proposed a revised ordinance that would explicitly remove “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” from the city’s list of protected classes, while retaining protections for other groups such as race, religion, and national origin. In response, LGBTQ+ advocates and local organizations, including the Help Center for LGBTQ+ Health, mobilized to oppose the rollback, urging residents to attend the October 14 council meeting and publicly demonstrate support for maintaining the existing protections.

The Help Center for LGBTQ+ Health released a statement calling the legal interpretation behind the suspension “flawed” and emphasizing the importance of defending hard-won rights for LGBTQ+ residents. “We will not stand by as our hard-won rights are threatened—especially based on a flawed legal interpretation,” the statement read, urging the community to “show strong opposition” if protections are removed and “strong support” if they are retained.

The debate in Arlington reflects a growing trend of local governments reassessing or rolling back DEI and LGBTQ+ protections in response to federal directives and concerns over funding. In August 2025, the Fort Worth City Council voted to suspend its DEI initiatives to safeguard more than $40 million in annual federal grants. However, Fort Worth’s nondiscrimination ordinance, which was amended in 2009 to include sexual orientation and gender identity, remains in place, highlighting the unique nature of Arlington’s proposed rollback.

Arlington officials maintain that their actions are necessary to comply with federal policy and protect critical funding, with City Manager Trey Yelverton stating, “We’re taking steps that are all intended to pursue capital in this community with over $65 million worth of assistance coming here”. City Attorney Shortall has also emphasized that anti-discrimination ordinances vary widely between municipalities, and that staff require time to evaluate the implications of the new federal order.

Public response to the city’s actions has been vocal and divided. During the September 2 meeting, eleven residents addressed the council, with nine speaking against the suspension and two in favor. LGBTQ+ advocates argued that suspending or amending the ordinance would amount to state-sanctioned discrimination and a regression of civil rights. “The fact that basic rights and protections can be so quickly thrown out should be alarming to everyone,” said DeeJay Johannessen, CEO of the Help Center for LGBTQ+ Health, in an interview with the Arlington Report.

Opponents of the ordinance’s inclusion of LGBTQ+ protections contended that the policies exposed the city and local employers to legal risk and were inconsistent with federal requirements. Council member Barbara Odom-Wesley, one of two votes against the suspension, described the move as “a step backwards,” warning that suspending the ordinance would signal that discrimination is acceptable. “I cannot support suspending the anti-discrimination chapter because that says to me, ‘It’s OK to discriminate now,’ and it’s just not OK with me,” Odom-Wesley said during the meeting.

If the Arlington City Council votes to remove LGBTQ+ protections, the city will make history as the first in the nation to reverse previously established anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people. Such a move is expected to have ripple effects across Texas and the nation, as advocates and legal experts warn that it could embolden similar rollbacks elsewhere and undermine the security of civil rights gains for LGBTQ+ communities.

In anticipation of the vote, local and national LGBTQ+ organizations have called for solidarity and participation at the council meeting. The Help Center for LGBTQ+ Health insists that “regardless of the outcome, we must demonstrate that our community SHOWS UP when our rights are at risk”.

As the council prepares for the decisive vote, all eyes are on Arlington. The outcome will not only affect the city’s LGBTQ+ residents but may also set a precedent for how localities nationwide respond to federal pressure and navigate the balance between civil rights and compliance with executive directives.