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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New Hampshire gay marriage bill delayed
(Concord, New Hampshire) Revisions in marriage equality legislation demanded by New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch before he signed the bill were stonewalled in the House Wednesday, after passing in the Senate.
The original marriage bill passed the legislature earlier this month, but Lynch said he would veto it unless it offered …
Kids “Confused” in New Anti-Gay Ad
A new commercial airing in New Hampshire features children “confused” by the idea of two men or two women getting married. The ad is an attempt to stop the governor from signing a bill that would allow same-sex marriage in the state.
One child asks, “If my dad married a man, who would be my mom?” Another says, “I’m confused.”
The ad was produced by the National Organization for Marriage and CPR Action, a conservative New Hampshire group. “I’m Confused” follows NOM’s “Storm Is Gathering” video, for which the organization hired actors to play the part of ostracized doctors and churchgoers.
In New Hampshire, a marriage-equality bill recently passed the house and senate. It is currently awaiting the governor’s approval. Governor Lynch has said he would sign the bill pending revisions that would allow religious institutions to withhold services to married couples.
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