Anchorage voters reject effort to repeal transgender protections

Anchorage, Alaska - Voters in Anchorage, Alaska have rejected a ballot measure that sought to roll back legal protections for transgender people in effect more than two years.

With nearly all ballots counted, Anchorage voted 53-47 to defeat Proposition 1, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, cheered the news, calling the result "historic."

"In a truly historic election, Anchorage voters refused to succumb to hate and bigotry by rejecting this discriminatory, anti-transgender ballot measure," Griffin said in a statement. "Community leaders, businesses, faith leaders, and public officials all spoke out in support of equality. Together, we sent a powerful message that Anchorage is a welcoming and inclusive city for all – including transgender people. HRC was proud to work on the ground alongside Anchorage's brave transgender community and the Fair Anchorage campaign to expose the opposition's shameful fearmongering and defeat this discriminatory proposition."

Opponents of the city's existing law that allows transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice put the initiative on Tuesday's ballot, expanding language to include "intimate facilities." They said they sought the law's repeal because it caused safety problems and made women uncomfortable.

Opponents of Proposition 1 included BP and Wells Fargo, which said it would hurt the city's economy.