Over A Dozen MI Cities Including Detroit Could Lose their Human Rights Ordinances

**detroitbob** · January-02-12, 11:38 PM

Over a dozen Michigan Cities, including Ferndale, Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Lansing and Detroit, could be stripped of their local human rights ordinances if Michigan HB 5039 passes.

http://ferndale115.com/nuevo/2012/01/02/cities-could-lose-inclusive-ordinances-if-hb5039-passes/

**Hamtragedy** · January-02-12, 11:45 PM

I wonder how many jobs will this piece of excrement legislation will create?

**detroitbob** · January-03-12, 12:01 AM

If it passes, I am sure that the nerd will sign it, as it is the will of the legislature acting on behalf of the people...and Focus on [[not my) Family and other right wing religous groups. This is a foretaste of what will happen if Washington shifts solidly Republican in November 2012.

...from the above quoted article, info on the bill itself and representattive's whose communities would be impacted by the bill.

Representative Lipton said that the best way to oppose such legislation is for residents to contact their state representatives along with those who serve on the Judicial Committee. “When you contact your Representative about a piece of legislation, they are required to pass on your communication to the Representative who introduced the bill. So if people in many districts are writing to their Representatives it can prompt conversations that wouldn’t be had if they just contacted the one introducing it. We listen to our constituents, and if multiple people are contacting us about an issue it tends to get noticed.”
Representative McMillin’s legislative website is http://www.gophouse.com/welcome.asp?District=45, which includes multiple methods of contact. The Judiciary Committee Representatives are listed below, with the Emails linked to their names.
John J. Walsh [[R), Committee Chair, 19th District
Kurt Heise [[R), Majority Vice-Chair, 20th District
Judson S. Gilbert II [[R), 81st District
Kenneth B. Horn [[R), 94th District
Kurt Damrow [[R), 84th District
Paul Muxlow [[R), 83rd District
Bradford C. Jacobsen [[R), 46th District
Peter Pettalia [[R), 106th District
Pat Somerville [[R), 23rd District
Kevin Cotter [[R), 99th District
Mark S. Meadows [[D), Minority Vice-Chair, 69th District
Bob Constan [[D), 16th District
Stacy Erwin Oakes [[D), 95th District
Lisa Brown [[D), 39th District
Jeff Irwin [[D), 53rd District
Phil Cavanagh [[D), 17th District
John Olumba [[D), 5th District
Equality Michigan lists fifteen cities that have inclusive ordinances that would be nullified by this bill. The list is current as of July 2011, and can be viewed here.

**Scottathew** · January-03-12, 12:14 AM

One day, hopefully during my lifetime, we'll look back at amazement over how we treated homosexual people. The personal choices of a person simply don't affect me. If a man wants to marry a man, WHO CARES!

I consider myself a fiscal conservative, so that's why I have "right" tendencies, but I just don't understand how these folks on the right can say they're for less government when they want have a moral war against homosexuality and legislate who you can and cannotmake a lifetime commitment to.

**detroitbob** · January-03-12, 12:46 AM

This does not just impact GLBT people...other legislation in the works in Lansing intends to replace the governing bodies of the State Universities with a central board as the recent repeal of domestic partner benefits for State employees does not apply to the individual universities. So if you are straight, living in sin [[opps not married) as living as domestic partners and you happen to work for one of the State Universities you too will be SOL.

With the State Supreme Court being under ruling party control, I repeat this is a foretaste of what will happen if Washington shifts solidly Republican in November 2012. This has nothing to do with fiscal responsibility. I have stayed away from partsianship in my postings but I don't see anything positive under Republican rule. And to boot, I'll bet the budget will never be balanced.

**Novine** · January-03-12, 06:37 AM

McMillin is a right-wing nut job. He was the Auburn Hills version of Janice Daniels before he was elected to the state legislature. He'll do what he can to get this legislation passed and there are plenty of dinosaurs in Lansing who will sign onto this kind of garbage.

**Bham1982** · January-03-12, 09:09 AM

This is outrageous and anyone associated with this should be condemmed.

It's basically the 2012 version of Jim Crow legislation.

**Danny** · January-03-12, 10:03 AM

Oh oh! It's like living in Jim Crow Mississippi! More like "Mich-issippi"!

**DetroiterOnTheWestCoast** · January-03-12, 11:48 AM

Its Republican "small government" at work.

**Danny** · January-03-12, 11:51 AM

Let's vote every last Republican in the State of Michigan out of office including Rick Synder, The Nerd!

**Ray1936** · January-03-12, 12:30 PM

I just wish people were as concerned with Human Responsibilities as they were with Human Rights.

**Detroitnerd** · January-03-12, 01:14 PM

Originally Posted by Ray1936

I just wish people were as concerned with Human Responsibilities as they were with Human Rights.

Did you know any of those vice squad guys who'd hang out in the men's toilet at the Stone Burlesk or the Brass Rail?

**surenowinlife** · January-04-12, 07:29 AM

Thank God my partner has domestic benefits thru his employer and they aren't tied to any of this B/S going on!!

**Baselinepunk** · January-04-12, 08:22 AM

"This" is all a deliberate measure to insure that this State and Country moves backward toward "traditional family values". That means women out of the work force, the family back into the Christian church and white males back in charge.

Today's Republicans are the most embarrassing, hypocritical, sorry-ass lot of politicians to ever see the light of day. Just as the Republicans cry about the lack of Muslim activism regarding extremists in their religion; Republicans who stand idly by and allow folks that trample on local control as a means to fulfill their divisive agenda are guilty as conspirators.

How these un-American and traitorous louses get elected in today's context is truly amazing. However, we should not really hold these people as completely responsible; it's the people who put them there in the first place that we should all be concerned about.

**maxx** · January-06-12, 02:05 PM

McMillin told citizenlink.com, a Focus on the Family affiliate, “I’ve been somewhat active throughout the years in trying to stop some of these special-rights ordinances for homosexual behavior, and notice they’re often used to discriminate against Christians.

Has McMillan explained anywhere how granting homosexuals basic human rights discriminates against Christians?

**Wesley Mouch** · January-06-12, 02:21 PM

Originally Posted by maxx

Has McMillan explained anywhere how granting homosexuals basic human rights discriminates against Christians?

If a gay rights law lets workers demand pay benefits to non-spousal partners, then it has removed the rights of business-owners [[including Christians).

That said, for the record I am 100% in favor of allowing people to declare civil unions to each other regardless of gender with 100% of the legal benefits of marriage -- but not the word 'marraige'. Leave that to the Christians.

**noise** · January-06-12, 03:08 PM

Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

If a gay rights law lets workers demand pay benefits to non-spousal partners, then it has removed the rights of business-owners [[including Christians).

That said, for the record I am 100% in favor of allowing people to declare civil unions to each other regardless of gender with 100% of the legal benefits of marriage -- but not the word 'marraige'. Leave that to the Christians.

That's fine, but you need to remove the word "marriage" from any heterosexual unions of non-Christians.

**Ray1936** · January-06-12, 05:26 PM

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

Did you know any of those vice squad guys who'd hang out in the men's toilet at the Stone Burlesk or the Brass Rail?

I only worked vice/precinct cleanup for a few months in my 29 years. Hated every minute of it. Back in 'my day', a big thing was nailing a numbers runner with a hundred slips and forty bucks cash. Big deal. Now the state does it legally. And they pay 50% return compared to the 60% return of the numbers racket.

As far as "trolling" for accosting and soliciting cases [[be they male or female), I had better things to do.

**Detroitnerd** · January-06-12, 05:42 PM

Originally Posted by Ray1936

I only worked vice/precinct cleanup for a few months in my 29 years. Hated every minute of it. Back in 'my day', a big thing was nailing a numbers runner with a hundred slips and forty bucks cash. Big deal. Now the state does it legally. And they pay 50% return compared to the 60% return of the numbers racket.

As far as "trolling" for accosting and soliciting cases [[be they male or female), I had better things to do.

Thanks for the reply, Ray. I don't ask to cast any aspersions on you; I'm genuinely curious about those pre-Stonewall days when vice cops busted guys in the bathroom at those places.

I wish McMillin and company felt they had better things to do too. As in removing the 2-by-4 from their eyes before pointing out slivers in others'...

**MikeyinBrooklyn** · January-06-12, 06:08 PM

This idiot from Rochester Hills is my least favorite kind of fellow Republican. I am for small government, less involved in our lives. While I am not a huge fan of "protected status" and "hate crimes" laws [[long discussion I am not trying to start here), this is purely politcal grandstanding. Most conservatives I know [[self included) are fairly live and let live. I am not strictly libertarian [[I will never agree with legalized prostitution or hard drug use), but I do think most people are okay with most other people if you aren't hurting anybody. This guy clearly wants to court the small number of actually anti-gay people [[believe it or not, it's even a small number of Christian conservatives). Most gay people are not single-issue voters in most cases, but he might just succeed in convincing every gay person in his district to vote against him in November, even if they agree with him on taxes and other issues. Hopefully this bill goes nowhere.

I would actually be for not allowing domestic partner benefits if gay marriage were legal in Michigan [[I don't think the state should be committed to paying for benefits for people if their partner isn't committed enough to marry them). But that position is predicated on legalizing gay marriage.

Gay rights issues are strange in our world. On the one hand, gay people are very successfully integrated into most communities, most families, the media, places of education and employment, etc. On the other hand, there are people who just refuse to accept a gay relationship as legitimate and equal to a straight relationship. In no respects are the challenges we face similar to overcoming Jim Crow laws. And I think that makes it harder to overcome them. I do think things are getting much better. This state senator appears to everyone to be outside the mainstream; 20 years ago he was mainstream. By the 1970's, Orville Faubus and his ilk were not supported by anyone significant in the political world; this guy will end up that way. When a gay kid gets picked on in school now, his tormentors are more likely to end up ostracized than the victim is. That's a good sign. I try in life not to focus on the jerks and idiots here and there, but think about the kids who can safely come out in high school, gay soldiers respected by their peers, and straight guys comfortable walking into a gay bar to grab a drink.