SARASOTA COUNTY — For the past several months, Venice Realtor Julia Nowak has been pushing for what she calls a human rights ordinance that would outlaw discrimination against people for their sexual orientation or gender identity.

After hearing several times from Nowak and others, the Sarasota County Commission agreed that such an ordinance is needed, and instructed the county’s legal staff Tuesday to begin the process that could lead to a human rights ordinance for the county.