Council advocates gay rights proposal

With hate crimes on the rise across Michigan, the city of Ann Arbor has asked the state Legislature to take a stand against discrimination.

Last night, the Ann Arbor City Council unanimously passed an ordinance asking the state government to pass an amendment that would protect citizens against discrimination by sexual orientation.

In 1988, the Michigan Legislature passed the Ethnic Intimidation Act, which forbade many sorts of discrimination in Michigan.

"The original draft included language to include sexual orientation," said Councilmember Chris Kolb (D-5th Ward), but the sexual orientation references were pulled before the bill went up for a vote.

State Rep. Lynne Martinez (D-Lansing) recently proposed an amendment to the bill that reinstates the sexual orientation language.

Kolb, who is gay, said hate crimes against homosexuals rose 29 percent last year in southeastern Michigan.

"Not only did the violence increase, but the intensity of the violence increased," Kolb said. In 68 of the cases in southeast Michigan, the victims were hospitalized or killed, he said.

Councilmember Elizabeth Daley (D-5th Ward) said the act also would protect the friends and relatives of hate crime victims.

"At some point in our lives, that's going to be all of us," Daley said.

The amendment is already supported by the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police, the Prosecuting Attorney's Association and the Michigan Municipal League, in addition to many gay and lesbian groups, Kolb said.

Twenty states and the District of Columbia have laws protecting homosexuals from discrimination.

Kolb said that both of Ann Arbor's state representatives and its state senator are "all strongly in favor" of the amendment.

"I think it has a good chance of passing the House," Kolb said. "Passing in the Senate will take some work."

State Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith (D-Ann Arbor) said that if the bill survives the Senate Judiciary Committee, it will probably pass in the Senate.

"It really depends on where the judiciary stands on the bill," Smith said. Key to passing it is winning the support of Judiciary Chair William Van Regenmorter (R-Hudsonville), she said.

Smith said she is hopeful that Van Regenmorter will lend his support despite his conservative bent.

"I think this is a man who believes in the personal security of every man and woman in this state," Smith said.

The issue of discrimination by sexual orientation recently has become an issue of great importance in the neighboring city of Ypsilanti. A social work group that went to a print shop to have some raffle tickets made has recently attracted attention. The owners of the shop refused to print the tickets on the grounds that the raffle proceeds were to benefit a gay and lesbian event.

Ypsilanti councilmembers have since introduced legislation to forbid discrimination by any of 14 attributes, including sexual orientation.

"After the printer, people started saying, 'Wait a minute, I can't believe that people can do this,'" said Paul Heaton of the Campaign for Equality, a group advocating the city ordinance.

Heaton said it was right for a city to have non-discrimination statutes.

"I would never expect that to happen in an Ann Arbor environment," said Kenneth Jones, chair of the Michigan Student Assembly Minority Affairs Commission.

The city of Ann Arbor does protect against discrimination by sexual orientation through a city ordinance.

"As a big college town, we expect it to be more inclusive," Jones said, but added, "Of course, you can find ignorance anywhere you go."

11-18-97