Another public vote on whether or not discrimination against LGBT people is acceptable is on the ballot. This one in Kalamazoo:
Kalamazoo voters will have the last word in November on a controversial, local, gay-rights ordinance that had banned gender identity or sexual-orientation discrimination in housing, employment and access to public accommodations.It really sucks that people get to vote on whether or not LGBT people can have rights or can face discrimination. There's something very wrong with that concept. When I was in Maine over the 4th of July, it really hit me that my friends and family, along with every other voter in the state, got to vote on my rights.
The Kalamazoo City Commission voted unanimously Monday to reaffirm its support for the ordinance that was officially suspended Friday when challenge petitions were certified by City Clerk Scott Borling.
City Attorney Clyde Robinson now will draft ballot language that will be presented to the commission at its Aug. 17 meeting. Commissioners must approve the language for it to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot.
The anti-discrimination measure surfaced in late 2008 when the local gay-rights group Kalamazoo Alliance for Equality proposed ordinance language. A final version was crafted by Robinson, and the commission passed it unanimously in December.
Jon Hoadley, who has been the Executive Director of Stonewall Democrats, is leaving that post to run the campaign in Kalamazoo:
Today, National Stonewall Democrats announced that Executive Director Jon Hoadley has accepted a position leading One Kalamazoo, a new Kalamazoo, Michigan campaign formed to protect the city's nondiscrimination ordinance in an upcoming ballot fight.Good luck, Jon. And keep us posted.
