The City of Rochester is expanding the protections it gives to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered employees.
The announcement by Mayor Tom Richards came at a Pride Flag raising ceremony held at Manhattan Square Park on Friday night. Richards says the city already had a high rating from an organization that looks at policies developed for municipal employees, but he felt there were a couple of additional things the city could do.
The changes involve establishing a liaison for the L-G-B-T community, as well as make sure City Hall policies cover transgendered people.
"I say this all the time, part of being in an urban area is having all kinds of everybody, and that's the beauty of it, and we want to make sure that our policies express that just like our behavior does. "
The executive director of the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley, Scott Fearing, says the city already had strong policies to protect LGBT employees.
"Rochester for many years has been helping to lead the way as far as municipalities around the country in their accepting and welcoming policies and attitudes and work that they do, " Fearing said.
Activities for gay pride weekend include a parade in the city Saturday afternoon, as well as activities at Manhattan Square Park, and a picnic Sunday at Genesee Valley Park.
