2018-11 Proposals

Proposal ID: 2018-11 Anti-Harassment Bylaws Proposal

Date: November 16, 2018
Author: Christian Hain
Status: Approved (2018-12-16. 11 for, 0 against)

Section and Title

Section 5. Membership. Paragraph 4.

Currently Reads As

"A member of the Organization may be removed from membership for not performing their duties, for misuse of the Organization’s funds, or for other misconduct at the Organization’s official and affiliated events, at committee and special interest group meetings, at regular business meetings, or in any other capacity associated with the Organization. A proposal to remove a member follows the standard voting procedures for proposals, with the exception that a 3/4 majority vote is required to adopt the proposal. The proposal may be considered with an emergency vote provided that the proposal has been sent to the sponsoring members mailing list no less than 10 days prior to the business meeting at which the proposal will be considered. Individuals who are removed from membership shall be banned from all of the Organization’s mailing lists."

Proposed Amendment

"A member of the Organization may be removed from membership for not performing their duties, for misuse of the Organization’s funds, serious violations of the OutWorlders Anti-Harassment Policy, or for other misconduct at the Organization’s official and affiliated events, at committee and special interest group meetings, at regular business meetings, or in any other capacity associated with the Organization. A proposal to remove a member follows the standard voting procedures for proposals, with the exception that a 3/4 majority vote is required to adopt the proposal. The proposal may be considered with an emergency vote provided that the proposal has been sent to the sponsoring members mailing list no less than 10 days prior to the business meeting at which the proposal will be considered. If a member is found to be in serious violation of the OutWorlders Anti-Harassment Policy in a way that breaks local, state, or federal law, a member may be immediately removed from the organization. Individuals who are removed from membership shall be banned from all of the Organization’s mailing lists and the Organization’s future official events or special interest group meetings for a period of 12 consecutive months."

Rationale

OutWorlders sponsoring membership has increased to 38 members this year. In the event that someone seriously harasses another member in ways that break the law, all sponsoring members would be alerted to the offense, and then 29 would have to agree that the offending behavior is, in fact, illegal. Furthermore, OutWorlders’ only course of action would be to remove the offender from a mailing list. This proposal intends to prevent further victimization of both parties and continue to provide a comfortable and welcoming environment for all our members.