After months of delays and debate on the city of Arlington's anti-discrimination ordinance, on Tuesday, council members are expected to vote on its reinstation

The Arlington City Council will vote on whether to reinstate its anti-discrimination ordinance, which includes protections for the LGBTQ+ community. 

Why the anti-discrimination rule was suspended  

The ordinance, originally adopted in 2021, was temporarily suspended in September after city staff raised concerns that the ordinance would impact the city's ability to receive federal funding, citing the Trump administration's threat to withhold funds from cities with DEI programs. The issue has garnered national attention.

"If Arlington removed sexual orientation from the list of protected classes, they would be the first city in the history of our nation to do so," said DeeJay Johannessen, the CEO at the Help Center for LGBTQ+ Health. "The city has received no correspondence, no information, nothing threatening any money. So, our position is no federal funding was ever at risk."

City staff also proposed removing language referring to "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" from the ordinance — but that amendment was never voted on. 

LGBTQ+ advocates push for full restoration  

Since September, Arlington's anti-discrimination ordinance has remained suspended. Advocates like Johannessen hope the council restores the original language. He said that if the council votes to restore the ordinance, it will mostly stay the same, aside from some minor changes to legal language.

"Not having an anti-discrimination ordinance doesn't only affect the LGBTQ community; if they do not put forward an ordinance in the city of Arlington, a restaurant could say, 'women are not allowed to eat here, LGBT people are not allowed to eat here,'" he said. "The public accommodations protections are entitled to under the Civil Rights Act, which don't include the word sex. And so, therefore, you could discriminate in Arlington, according to Arlington's ordinance, based upon sex. So, it's not just LGBT."

Opponents warn of legal and safety issues  

But opponents argue that reinstating the ordinance is the wrong move. Conservative groups like Texas Values say their concern is about protecting women and avoiding legal risk.

"Reinstating this ordinance, with a gender ideology definition, would be signaling a rejection of the direction of both the state of Texas and the Trump administration," said Jonathan Covey, the policy director for Texas Values. "The city of Arlington, do your job. Taxpayers didn't elect you to take ideological stands that legally expose the city. They want you to use common sense. They want you to uphold the privacy and the safety of women."

CBS News Texas reached out to Mayor Jim Ross' office, but has not heard back. The city council meeting will start at 6:30 p.m.