The city's office of equity and engagement has 90 days to investigate several reports of a new wedding venue potentially violating the human rights ordinance enacted in December 2019.
The Broadway Avenue was purchased in 2018 by Nick and Hannah Natale, who have worked in the wedding industry together for years. They renovated the former church extensively over the past several years.
Several screenshots began circulating on social media last week indicating the couple was not going to allow same-sex couples to get married at their venue.
“We just truly believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that's what we would like to serve here as well,” the couple told FOX 17 on Monday.
There was swift backlash online regarding their policy decision.
After the Office of Equity and Engagement received four reports about the wedding venue's policy, they opened an investigation on Tuesday.
“At this time, we are unable to speculate if the policy violates the City’s Human Rights Ordinance. As outlined in the ordinance, staff must first investigate to determine if a violation has occurred," a spokesperson told FOX 17.
"The City’s Office of Equity and Engagement has officially received four complaints and has begun processing them.”
But, what does this process actually look like?
"We take human rights ordinance violations and complaints of harassment discrimination extremely seriously,” said Patti Caudil, diversity and inclusion manager for the Office of Equity and Engagement.
“People often want an immediate response, but... as an investigator, it often takes time. So you need to let us do our due diligence to investigate the complaints that are brought forward.”
They have 90 days to investigate and render a decision.
“We start the process by really looking at the complaint that was brought forward... number one, does it violate our ordinance? Number two, is there a referral that we can make to a state or federal agency, that has more authority than us? Or, is this completely not a violation of the ordinance?”
Their office works with the city attorney and the office of oversight and public accountability to investigate reports.
If necessary, they have the ability to refer the case to another state or federal agency.
