The Terre Haute City Council voted Thursday evening to amend its human rights ordinance to outlaw discrimination based on gender identity.
The city code offers protections for people against discrimination based on sexual orientation, among other factors.
Council Representative Todd Nation says the recent passage of Religious Freedom Restoration Act brought certain omissions in the state's discrimination laws into focus.
"What you're seeing Terre Haute become a part of is a trend that will probably go on for a number of months or even years fixing at the local level what is broken at the state level," Nation says.
Human Relations Commission Director Jeff Lorick hugged colleagues after Thursday's vote. He says he's proud Terre Haute is catching up with other inclusive communities.
"I can know hold my head high that those communities that we're progressive enough bold enough, courageous enough to provide those protections for the citizens who live in our city," Lorick says.
The mayor is expected to sign the ordinance soon.