Kalamazoo gay-rights issue will be revisited

KALAMAZOO — The Kalamazoo City Commission is expected to take the first step Monday night in a process that could lead to voters deciding whether Kalamazoo should grant “protected-class” status to gays, lesbians and transgender individuals.

The commission will consider for first reading a new city ordinance that includes revisions from the first anti-discrimination measure that members unanimously approved in December. A subsequent citizen petition drive challenged the measure and resulted in commissioners rescinding it and establishing a subcommittee to attempt to reach a compromise on a new ordinance.

The language coming back to the commission Monday does not change the basic premises, however. It essentially will make it a municipal civil infraction to discriminate against someone in the city in issues of housing, public accommodation and employment because they are gay. Violators could face up to a $500 fine, plus court costs.

The local proposal to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity represents an expansion of existing state and federal laws that prohibit discrimination based on factors such as race, color, religion and sex.

Proponents of the local ordinance — including the Kalamazoo Alliance for Equality, which proposed the original concept — say they’ll support the new measure.

See City gay-rights issue will be revisited

Kalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com

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