Bigots file Petions to strike down new gay-rights ordinance – Is hate a family value in Kalamazoo?

KALAMAZOO – Petitions seeking the repeal of a newly adopted city ordinance that extends discrimination protections to gays and lesbians in Kalamazoo have been filed.

City Clerk Scott Borling said former city commissioner and current Kalamazoo County Treasurer Mary Balkema officially turned over 189 pages of petitions that circulators said contained about 1,600 signatures.

Due to the New Year’s Day holiday Thursday, Borling said certification of those signatures will begin Friday.

Borling expects the process to extend into next week before it is officially determined that the petitions contain at least 1,273 signatures, the minimum Borling said are necessary to trigger reconsideration of the anti-discrimination ordinance.

Under the charter, if sufficient signatures are certified next week, the ordinance is immediately suspended and the Kalamazoo City Commission must either repeal the entire ordinance or put it on the ballot for city voters to decide.

That action must occur at the commission’s next business meeting, which would be Jan. 26.

The current ordinance expands existing housing and employment protections to include gays, lesbians and transgender individuals, protected classes that are not currently included in existing state and federal anti-discrimination laws.

See Petitions filed Wednesday in opposition of new Kalamazoo gay …
Kalamazoo Gazette – MLive.com, MI