Metro Detroit cities rally behind LGBTQ+ residents after Hamtramck’s Satisfaction flag ban
Leaders of cities neighboring Hamtramck despatched a transparent message to LGBTQ+ residents this week: You might be welcome right here.
The remarks got here after the all-Muslim Hamtramck Metropolis Council banned Satisfaction flags from all metropolis properties.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan underscored that the state’s largest metropolis shows its Satisfaction flag outdoors of Metropolis Corridor.
“The Metropolis of Detroit proudly raises our Satisfaction Flag in the beginning of each Satisfaction Month and permits it to fly all year long to point out our unwavering help for the LGBTQ+ neighborhood and the range inside,” Duggan mentioned. “It’s the function of metropolis officers to make sure everybody feels welcome of their neighborhood, and everyone seems to be welcome right here in Detroit.”
“To the #LGBTQ, progressive, and/or inclusive residents and enterprise house owners of Hamtramck — Hamtramck might not need you, however you’re welcome in @cityofhazelpark,” Hazel Park Mayor Professional-Tem Luke Londo tweeted.
Oakland County Government David Coulter, who’s homosexual, tweeted, “You’re welcome right here. #OaklandCounty #AllWaysMovingForward.”
State lawmakers who symbolize metro Detroit communities additionally spoke out in help of LGBTQ+ residents.
“To Hamtramck LGBTQ+ neighborhood members and their households — please know that you’ve many allies all through the town and state, and that features me as your state senator,” mentioned state Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit. “You might be cherished, you’re welcome, and you’re valued. Hamtramck has had a protracted historical past of being a spot of hope and alternative for folks of all backgrounds.”
State Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Detroit, known as for unity.
“Standing with Hamtramck & MI-13’s LGBTQ+ neighborhood as your congressman,” U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Detroit, tweeted. “Dedicated to elevating your voices & championing your rights. Collectively, let’s foster unity and inclusivity. Be part of me in displaying help to our LGBTQ+ neighbors. United, we flourish.”
The Michigan LGBTQ+ Legislative Caucus criticized Hamtramck’s determination, saying it sends the improper message.
“Leaders who search to stifle or deny Michigan’s important variety cannot erase the truth that LGBTQ+ folks exist in each metropolis, city, and village throughout our state — and we’re not going anyplace,” the caucus mentioned in a press release. “As Michigan’s LGBTQ+ lawmakers, we stand in solidarity with Hamtramck’s LGBTQ+ neighborhood and condemn the council’s divisive and unhappy decision that solely serves to divide and polarize this sturdy and distinctive neighborhood.”
Branden Snyder, government director of Detroit Motion, a nonprofit that empowers employees and other people of coloration, was much more blunt, saying the “unwarranted decision is a blatant try to sow division inside our communities and create a hostile surroundings.”
Hamtramck makes historical past with Muslim mayor and Metropolis Council
“In latest months, there was a wave of coordinated political backlash in opposition to the LGBTQ+ neighborhood and the vital rights they’ve gained over the previous few years,” Snyder mentioned. “Banning homosexual pleasure flags is a slippery slope that has the potential to not solely restrict the freedoms of the LGBTQ+ neighborhood in Hamtramck, however across the state as properly. Ostracizing the LGBTQ+ neighborhood in any capability shreds the material of Michigan and can drive 1000’s into a lifetime of uncertainty and worry.”
Hamtramck Metropolis Council defended the ban, saying it was respecting the non secular beliefs of the various metropolis.
“You guys are welcome,” Ghalib mentioned of LGBTQ+ residents at Tuesday’s assembly. “Why do it’s important to have the flag proven on authorities property to be represented? You’re already represented.”
The problem got here to gentle in 2021 when then-Hamtramck Mayor Karen Majewski displayed the Satisfaction flag outdoors of metropolis corridor, eliciting criticism from the neighborhood’s massive Muslim inhabitants. Mayoral challenger Amer Ghalib turned it right into a marketing campaign speaking level, saying he didn’t help the flag.
Ghalib defeated Majewski in November 2021.
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