BANGOR, Maine — A Bangor city ordinance written in 1976 is up for debate.
The topic? Just one word.
The word? Homosexuality.
Tucked in the 'public morals' section of an ordinance a 'prohibited displays' clause that lists 'sexual conduct' including, "acts of sodomy, masturbation, homosexuality, sexual intercourse or physical contact with a person's clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, buttocks or, if such a person is female, breasts."
The city is discussing removing the word 'homosexuality' from that list.
"I'm surprised that it's taken Bangor this long to kind of strike down the homosexuality portion of it," Sarah Haas, with the Bangor Health Equity Alliance, said.
She says hiding homosexuality, on book and magazine covers at stores and shops, isn't helping the LGBT community.
"If we don't allow books with like homosexuality on the cover -- how do people know it exists?" She added.
That's exactly the reason Bangor city officials are planning to take a new look at the old ordinance.
"Literally someone just noticed this and said, 'Hey should we still have this?'" Paul Niklas with the city's legal team said.
"We've certainly never prosecuted anyone under this ordinance," he said.
Niklas adds that the city will also be looking into what extent the ordinance is needed in general.
The Bangor City Council will continue the conversation surrounding this ordinance at its meeting next week.