WHEELING — For married couple George Lenz and Michael Lujano, the anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents approved by city council in December serves to validate their position that Wheeling is, in fact, the Friendly City.

“I think Wheeling is very accepting. There is a lot more diversity here than some realize,” said Lujano, who began his relationship with Lenz when the two met in Texas in 1989. They married soon after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2015 that same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 states.

“The Centre Market area is a very happening place,” he added. “There are so many artists and really unique things going on here.”

“Wheeling is a little bit of a different place, but no one has ever given us any problems here,” Lenz, a Martins Ferry native, said.

Today, Lenz and Lujano operate the “Edna’s On The Market” hair salon at 2206 Market St., just across from the Centre Market House.

Shortly after they managed to acquire the building in 1996, they hoisted a rainbow flag above the doorway.

Although the couple put the flag in place to support LGBT rights, very few people in the Centre Market area understood this.

“We put it up in 1996. For years, people had no idea what it was or what it stood for. They just thought it was different,” Lenz said of the flag that still hangs above the doorway.

To say the culture of the Upper Ohio Valley has changed a bit during the last two decades may be an understatement, Lenz and Lujano said. They said they really never believed city officials would consider an LGBT protection ordinance.

“The younger people tend to be much more open-minded about it,” Lenz said of LGBT lifestyles. “Still, we never thought the council would actually bring it up.”

After months of discussion last year, as well as a march through downtown Wheeling, council members voted to make Wheeling the 11th West Virginia municipality with an ordinance that specifically protects housing and employment rights for LGBT residents.

The ordinance includes exemptions for religious institutions, as well as employers with fewer than 12 employees. It also gives the city’s human rights commission the ability to issue cease-and-desist orders in response to complaints under the new policy, and to seek court enforcement of the orders if the respondents due not comply.

Although Lenz and Lujano said they have not experienced discrimination in Wheeling, they said know of instances in which it has occurred.

“I really like the new Mayor (Glenn Elliott),” Lenz said. “He understands what needs to be done here for the city to grow.”

For Lenz and Lujano, they said they only seek to have the same rights as heterosexuals.

“If you treat people with respect, you should be treated with respect,” Lenz said. “That’s all we ask for.”

Two of the more vibrant companies operating in Wheeling now are Williams Lea Tag and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. Both companies hire college-educated employees, while both feature offices in cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., New York City, Shanghai, and London.

Lenz and Lujano said they understand the concerns some in California, New York or Washington, D.C. may have about coming to Wheeling. They hope the LGBT protection ordinance can allay some of those worries.

“There is so much available and affordable real estate here compared to some place like San Francisco,” Lenz said. “The buildings may need some work, but the architecture is amazing.”