From now on, all human rights matters in St. Joseph County will be handled by the South Bend Human Rights Commission.
The county passed its first ordinance in February, and has received 35 complaints.
Officials say their goal is to ensure that every person in St. Joseph County has an outlet when they feel they have experienced discrimination on the basis of religion, gender identity, sex, or disability. But there has been some question since the ordinance was passed about who would enforce it.
This new agreement means the South Bend body will handle all of the county’s complaints. For the time being, they will do so for free.
The state does not currently protect the LGBTQ community, but the city and county ordinances do.
