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GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
Grand Rapids, Michigan
July 29, 2011

Gay rights debate made focus of Holland
election with Gary Glenn’s robocalls

by Shandra Martinez | The Grand Rapids Press

HOLLAND, Mich. – Conservative Christian activist Gary Glenn is keeping his promise to campaign for candidates challenging Holland City Council incumbents who voted in favor of extending the city’s anti-discrimination lawto include sexual orientation and gender identity.

Glenn called Holland voters Thursday night in a robocall message supporting Gerardo “Jerry” Tonini who is running for 2nd Ward seat on the City Council against incumbent Jay Peters.

Peters was one of the four members who unsuccessfully voted in favor of the ordinance. The three-way race also includes former Councilman Victor Orozco, who supports gay rights.

Did Glenn’s call help Tonini’s campaign?

“I don’t know,” admits Tonini. “The results will be known on Aug. 2.”

Expanding the ordinance to sexual orientation isn’t needed, said Tonini, who currently serves as chairman of the city’s Planning Commission.

“If we protect a certain group of people, then in essence we create more discrimination,” he said.
Tonini, who works for T2 Communications, says he doesn’t buy the argument by some companies that not expanding the ordinance hurts businesses. Furniture-maker Herman Miller and other businesses say the council’s failure to expand the ordinance will hurt their efforts to recruit top employees, no matter what their sexual orientation.

In a radio interview, Glenn took aim at Herman Miller by suggesting that gay workers don’t number within the ranks of the “best and the brightest” employees.

Glenn is president of the American Family Association of Michigan. His involvement in the City Council election comes as the chairman of the political action campaign, Campaign for Michigan Families.

Glenn recently announced he might mount his own campaign for U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s seat, which would first pit him against Holland’s favorite son and former Republican Congressman Peter Hoekstra.

In the robocall, Glenn hails Tonini for opposing “a discriminatory ordinance giving special rights to individuals involved in homosexual behavior or cross-dressing.”

Some criticize Glenn for stepping into the local election but Tonini says he appreciates Glenn’s support.
“I think every resource is valuable when we are dealing with an election,” Tonini said.

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Full Script of Gary Glenn’s robocall

“Hi, this is Gary Glenn with the Campaign for Michigan Families, urging you to support Jerry Tonini for Holland City Council. Jerry Tonini is the only candidate who opposes the discriminatory ordinance giving special rights to individuals involved in homosexual behavior or cross-dressing.

Jay Peters voted in favor of homosexual activists’ discriminatory ordinance, and Victor Orozco said he also supports the homosexual special rights ordinance.

This discriminatory ordinance supported by Peters and Orozco threatens your family’s religious freedom. In other states, these ‘sexual orientation’ laws have been used in court to legalize homosexual marriage and to discriminate against churches, businesses, and individuals – plus community groups such as the Boy Scouts, Salvation Army, and Catholic Charities — who refuse to allow homosexual Scoutmasters or clergy or to support the homosexual agenda.

Remember, Jay Peters and Victor Orozco support this discriminatory ordinance that threatens marriage and religious freedom.

Only one candidate opposes homosexual activists’ discriminatory special rights ordinance: Jerry Tonini, chairman of the Holland Planning Commission.

Jerry Tonini is committed to protecting the traditional values and religious freedom shared by families in Holland. Jerry Tonini will vote to protect marriage and religious freedom. Tuesday, please vote for Jerry Tonini for city council, either at City Hall or St Frances on West 13th.

This message was paid for by the Campaign for Michigan Families, including our supporters here in Holland.”

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/07/gary_glenn_steps_into_holland.html
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Detroit homosexual newspaper writes editorial about AFA-
Michigan’s Gary Glenn, urging newspapers to stop taking
him seriously enough to write editorials about him. Huh?

Click http://bit.ly/eLOdSW to make a tax-deductible contributon to AFA-Michigan today.

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“Last week, Gary Glenn…proclaimed that gays aren’t the ‘best or the brightest’ employees. That earned Glenn, the head of Michigan’s chapter of the American Family Association, coverage by news and blogs such as the Daily Kos, the Muskegon Chronicle and mlive.com, Towleroad, and others. This isn’t the first time that Glenn has attracted gads of media attention for his conservative views, and it certainly won’t be his last.

…So why is Glenn, one person who makes sense to so few, easily able to steal the spotlight? Because we listen. Because whenever he says something obnoxious and hateful, we all rush to hear exactly what he said and how he said it. Because news outlets like inflammatory stories, which often deliver lots of online hits. Because for some reason, we worry that the average conservative-leaning politician or citizen secretly thinks or believes the horrific things that Glenn has the temerity to say.

…After all, when he talks, people listen, no matter how absurd or irrelevant he sounds. …Gary Glenn is just Gary Glenn. He’s one man with one voice and one bizarre, unchanging message. …We highly doubt that if we stopped listening, Glenn would stop talking. He’ll never do that. But if we stop reading news stories and blog posts about him, perhaps writers and editors will fail to take him seriously enough to cover him in the future.”

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BETWEEN THE LINES
Detroit, Michigan
July 14, 2011

(Editorial)

Stop listening to Gary Glenn

Last week, Gary Glenn went on Linda Harvey’s radio show and proclaimed that gays aren’t the “best or the brightest” employees. The earned Glenn, the head of Michigan’s chapter of the American Family Association, coverage by news and blogs such as the Daily Kos, the Muskegon Chronicle and mlive.com, Towleroad and others. This isn’t the first time that Glenn has attracted gads of media attention for his conservative views, and it certainly won’t be his last.
To which we ask: Why?

Think about it: Does Glenn represent all conservative views? No. Does he represent all Christian views? No. He represents the far right and extremist views. He is likely speaking for a tiny portion of citizens in our state and across the country. So why is Glenn, one person who makes sense to so few, easily able to steal the spotlight?

Because we listen. Because whenever he says something obnoxious and hateful, we all rush to hear exactly what he said and how he said it. Because news outlets like inflammatory stories, which often deliver lots of online hits. Because for some reason, we worry that the average conservative-leaning politician or citizen secretly thinks or believes the horrific things that Glenn has the temerity to say.

Well, what really is behind the conservative Michigan lawmakers who were happy to introduce lots of anti-gay bills this session? They said it was the economy or the state’s anti-gay marriage amendment. But they didn’t say anything as crazy or extremist as Glenn, because they have some semblance of reputation and professionalism to uphold. Glenn’s job is to be as loud as possible, and he knows that shocking messages are easily amplified.

Glenn has offered to pay for the next campaigns of the Holland City Council members who voted against the anti-discrimination ordinance last month. That ordinance would have protected LGBTs from discrimination in housing and employment. These kinds of protections aren’t offered at the state or federal level. But there’s something very important to note in this story: even though the vote failed, it failed by a surprisingly slim margin. Just one vote different, and the historically conservative city of Holland could have turned progressive.

Glenn clearly must think that he has a lot of clout and power in order to openly back city council candidates. After all, when he talks, people listen, no matter how absurd or irrelevant he sounds. But he’s probably getting louder because he feels threatened. There was a lot of support for the ordinance, and it’s not going away. Groups of concerned citizens are attending every single city council meeting until it votes again on the measure, and in favor. These amazing citizens – many who are Christian and/or straight – are not letting the ordinance stay a failure. They’re organizing through social media, roping in area businesses and are even selling bumper stickers and t-shirts. This is the power of people banding together for positive change.

Gary Glenn is just Gary Glenn. He’s one man with one voice and one bizarre, unchanging message. Between Glenn and the concerned citizens of West Michigan, who do you think we should listen to? The thoughtful people who care for their community, or the screaming lunatic? The person who thinks he has power, or the group of people who actually has power?

We highly doubt that if we stopped listening, Glenn would stop talking. He’ll never do that. But if we stop reading news stories and blog posts about him, perhaps writers and editors will fail to take him seriously enough to cover him in the future. And wouldn’t that be much less of a bother to all of us?

http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=48082
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Please read the Detroit Free Press article below, then please take advantage of this rare opportunity to encourage a Democratic elected official in Michigan willing to stand up to militant homosexual activists’ political agenda of intolerance and discrimination.

Sen. Tupac Hunter, D-Detroit, Democratic Floor Leader in the state Senate, is the lead sponsor of Senate Bill 518, which would prohibit universities from discriminating against Christian counseling students who refuse to compromise their faith while counseling patients. The legislation comes in response to Eastern Michigan University’s expulsion of Julea Ward, a 4.3 GPA Christian counseling student who refused to counsel a patient on how to improve his homosexual relationship.

Sen. Hunter is getting beat up by homosexual activists and his fellow Democrats for daring defend Julea Ward and other Christian students. Please call or e-mail Sen. Hunter today and thank him for sponsoring SB 518.

E-mail: senthunter@senate.michigan.gov Phone: 517-373-0994

And please contact your state Senator today and urge him to support SB 518. Click here to find your state senator’s contact informatoin: http://www.senate.michigan.gov/FindYourSenator/byaddress.htm

Thanks as always for your support of AFA-Michigan’s stand for Michigan families and traditional family values. If you’d like to make a tax-deductible contribution today — which is especially critical during the summer months when contributions are down — please do so by credit card at http://bit.ly/oggsCk or by mail to AFA-Michigan, PO Box 1904, Midland, MI 48641.

Thanks again, and God bless and strengthen you and your family!

Gary Glenn
President
AFA-Michigan

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DETROIT FREE PRESS
Detroit, Michigan
July 13, 2011

Democrat’s bill would let counseling
students decline clients over beliefs

by David Jesse / Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

Sen. Tupac Hunter

Ever since Julea Ward sued Eastern Michigan University, saying it kicked her out of the counseling program when she refused to counsel a gay client, Republican politicians have lined up to offer her support.
That includes Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, who filed a brief in federal court supporting Ward’s position.

But a new bill designed to give counseling students the freedom to decline to counsel clients based on religious beliefs or moral conviction adds a wrinkle to the debate — it was drafted by Sen. Tupac Hunter, the Senate’s Democratic floor leader.

“I firmly believe that it is wrong for any institution of higher learning in this state to expel a student from a program because of their refusal to compromise their own belief system,” Hunter said in a statement. His office said Tuesday he was unavailable for interviews on the topic.

In her initial lawsuit, filed in 2009, Ward alleged EMU dismissed her from its graduate counseling program after she declined to counsel a gay client and instead referred the client to another counselor.

EMU responded that it dismissed her from the program for failing to fulfill curricular requirements and for not following the American Counseling Association’s code of ethics.

A federal judge ruled in favor of EMU in 2010. Ward has appealed that ruling.

Special interest groups from both sides of the political spectrum weighed in with support briefs.

Republican politicians tried this year to put language into higher education budget bills to have universities report to the Legislature on how they would “protect” counseling students’ “deeply held religious beliefs.”

This bill is different.

It would be called the Julea Ward Freedom of Conscience Act and would ban universities from dismissing students who declined to counsel clients because of conflicting religious beliefs. If dismissed, a student could ask a court to be reinstated.

“I believe a student should not be forced into a situation in which he/she would have to provide treatment that compromises their religious or moral convictions or requires them to conceal their values conflict in order to avoid expulsion from a degree program,” Hunter said in the statement. “How is this good for the student or the client, especially? There is no dishonor to the profession nor harm done to the client by simply referring him/her to another individual who can best assist the client in meeting his/her established goals for counseling.”

EMU spokesman Geoff Larcom said the university will cooperate with the Legislature’s mandate if the bill makes it into law. However, he reiterated EMU’s position that Ward’s dismissal had nothing to do with her religious beliefs.

http://www.freep.com/article/20110713/NEWS06/107130327/Democrat-s-bill-would-let-counseling-students-decline-clients-over-beliefs?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|s
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“‘There’s a constitutional amendment in Michigan prohibiting gay marriage, defining marriage between one man and one woman. We’re probably one of the states that’s the farthest behind in legalizing gay marriage. We have to change the constitution before we can pass a bill,’ said (Kathleen LaCosch, chief administrative officer of Affirmations, a homosexual activist group in Ferndale).”

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DAILY TRIBUNE
Royal Oak, Michigan
July 9, 2011

Gay marriage activists raise
awareness of legal rights of partners

by Monica Drake
For the Daily Tribune

Former Village of Oxford resident and Oxford High School student Jeremy Martin with his boyfriend Jeremy Lodwig, said if gay marriage was legal in Michigan, he would like to get married in his home state.

New York’s same-sex marriage law goes into effect July 24, but Kathleen LaCosch, chief administrative officer of Affirmations in Ferndale, said gay people in Michigan have a long way to go until they can get married, too.

“There’s a constitutional amendment in Michigan prohibiting gay marriage, defining marriage between one man and one woman. We’re probably one of the states that’s the farthest behind in legalizing gay marriage.

“We have to change the constitution before we can pass a bill,” said LaCosch.

“(In Michigan) when a person’s partner dies, that person’s family of origin can come in and take the house and make decisions about the funeral and burial and leave that significant other — who may have been their partner for 50 years — completely out in the cold. I’ve seen it time and time again.”

LaCosch said the legalization of gay marriage in New York is “a step in the right direction to have gay marriage legalized nationwide.

“It’s the most populous state that has legalized gay marriage. It’s a significant increase of people who now have protection,” said LaCosch.

Former Village of Oxford resident Jeremy Martin, 24, said he wanted to marry Jeremy Lodwig, his partner of three years, in his home state of Michigan, but he said they will now have to travel out of state to get married.

Martin said he doesn’t think legalizing gay marriage nationwide would help people become more accepting, though.

“I think if gay marriage is legalized nationwide, it will cause more segregation. I think there will be more bashing. Not everyone is accepting of it, and basically, if it becomes legal in the whole United States, it’s basically forcing our sexuality and our point of view down other peoples’ throats. Just because it’s legalized doesn’t mean people will be OK with it. Medical marijuana is legal too, but not everyone agrees with it,” said Martin.

Debbie Kingsley, family service counselor for Roseland Park Cemetery in Berkley, said she never realized before working at the cemetery that gay couples could be denied being buried together as well.

”When people come in after someone has died suddenly, they are just so emotionally distraught to begin with to even think, ‘What do you mean, I can’t be buried next to my partner?’ It can be very upsetting,” said Kingsley. “I’m guessing most people would never guess that could be an issue. I wanted to get the word out to prevent heartache in the future for families that are just trying to make arrangements.”

Michigan attorney Kevin McNulty said the only legal way to protect partnerships in Michigan is to sign a partnership agreement giving some legal force to their relationship. He also suggested partners name each other as Durable Power of Attorney, allowing them to speak on behalf of a partner if they are not able to speak for themselves.

LaCosch said she knows many medical personnel are not aware of this. “I talked to someone two weeks ago who was in a medical situation where his partner needed help. They had all the paperwork, they had the medical power of attorney, and still, the doctors and nurses would not let him go into the hospital room with his partner to help make medical decisions,” said LaCosch.

Martin said he wants Lodwig to be his Durable Power of Attorney. “If I’m on my death bed and hooked up to wires, it’s up to Jeremy (Lodwig) and my mom to determine if I should be kept on life support,” said Martin.

http://www.dailytribune.com/articles/2011/07/09/news/doc4e18e2aeb01c8051929851.txt?viewmode=fullstory
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Glenn’s comments were targeted at office-furniture maker Herman Miller and other Holland-area companies that have said the City Council’s vote against expanding its anti-discrimination ordinance to include sexual orientation will hurt their efforts to recruit and retain the most talented employees.

‘What ridiculous folly to suggest that only those individuals who engage in homosexual behavior — given all of its severe medical consequences — constitute the best and the brightest,’ Glenn said. …’My point was to mock the suggestion that engaging in homosexual behavior defines a potential job applicant as the ‘best and brightest,’ he said.”

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GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
Grand Rapids, Michigan
July 6, 2011

Conservative Christian activist Gary Glenn says gay
employees are bad hires because of health risks

by Shandra Martinez / The Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Christian rights activist Gary Glenn says he wants to set the record straight after his comments about gay employees during a conservative radio show were picked up by liberal media outlets.

He didn’t say gay workers shouldn’t be hired but rather suggested they are not the “best and brightest” employees.

“Being the ‘best and brightest’ is not defined by engaging in homosexual behavior, specifically because it’s not bright to engage in behavior medically associated with dramatically increased personal health risks,” Glenn alleged.

People who are gay or lesbian are at “dramatically higher risk of mental illness and substance abuse and AIDS and cancer and hepatitis,” he said during his radio interview about gay marriage with Linda Harvey of “Mission America” on July 2.

Glenn’s comments were targeted at office-furniture maker Herman Miller and other Holland-area companies that have said the City Council’s vote against expanding its anti-discriminatory ordinance to include sexual orientation will hurt their efforts to recruit and retain the most talented employees.

“What ridiculous folly to suggest that only those individuals who engage in homosexual behavior given all of its severe medical consequences constitute the best and the brightest,” Glenn said.

While Glenn didn’t say gays shouldn’t be hired, Harvey did during the interview: “I would not think of a homosexual person as a good employment risk, I just wouldn’t.”

So why do the comments of Glenn, who lives in Midland, matter in Holland?

Glenn is offering to fund the campaigns of candidates running against City Council members who voted in favor of expanding the ordinance. Glenn is quick to point out that effort is done under his role as chairman of the Campaign for Michigan Families, a political action committee.

“My point was to mock the suggestion that engaging in homosexual behavior defines a potential job applicant as the ‘best and brightest,’” he said.

Those who support expanding the ordinance are focusing their efforts on trying to convince one of the five council members who voted against it to change his or her vote rather than trying to put the issue on the ballot.

Glenn says his and Harvey’s comments were edited and don’t include the sources he says that back up his contention that gay employees have more health issues than heterosexual employees.

“We are not talking abut a matter of opinions but scientific facts from mainstream organizations, the Center for Disease Control and by openly homosexual organizations,” said Glenn. “These facts are not in dispute.”

http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2011/07/conservative_christian_activis.html
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Dr. Alveda King, left, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
with Gary Glenn of the American Family Association of
Michigan during King’s 2001 visit to Michigan to campaign
against discriminatory so-called “sexual orientation”
ordinances that threaten to violate religious freedoms
and women’s privacy rights by equating homosexual
behavior and cross-dressing with immutable characteri-
stics such as race and skin color. King returned in 2004
to campaign with Glenn in favor of Michigan’s Marriage
Protection Amendment, which was approved statewide
including by 64 percent of the vote in the city limits of
Holland.
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“Voters in the city of Holland will not decide if lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people should be protected by the city’s civil rights ordinances. …The decision was based on whether he believed a majority of the voters in the city of Holland would vote yes, (Bill Freeman, chaplain of Interfaith Congregation) said. He was swayed by much of the support for the ordinance change coming from outside of the city, he said. …Jay Peters, the only city council member present at Freeman’s announcement, said ‘it’s a prudent course of action.’”

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HOLLAND SENTINEL
Holland, Michigan
July 4, 2011

Bill Freeman will ask council to reconsider Lesbian-Gay-
Bisexual-Transgender non-discrimination ordinance

by Annette Manwell / The Holland Sentinel

Holland — Voters in the city of Holland will not decide if lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people should be protected by the city’s civil rights ordinances.

Bill Freeman, chaplain of Interfaith Congregation in Holland, announced Monday on the steps of Holland City Hall that his action will be to try to change the minds of the Holland City Council and that his goal is just one more council vote.

Freeman asked the city council more than a year ago to include the terms sexual orientation and gender identity in the city’s human relations and fair housing ordinance and equal employment opportunity policy. In April the Human Relations Commission agreed and sent a resolution to the city council for consideration. The resolution failed by a vote of 5-4.

Following that vote Freeman said he would start a petition drive for a ballot referendum. Monday he said instead that he will not rely on a majority to vote for the rights of a minority. His plan of action will be to attend every city council meeting to speak to members of council, educate them on LGBT issues and, because council meetings are broadcast on cable television, educate the public.

“We’re going to try to educate council further,” he said, adding that his hope is one more council vote. “Dr. (Martin Luther) King (Jr.) did not ask the people of Alabama to vote for the rights of black people.”

The decision was based on whether he believed a majority of the voters in the city of Holland would vote yes, Freeman said. He was swayed by much of support for the ordinance change was coming from outside of the city, he said.

One week ago, Holland is Ready, a local organization working to educate people about the LGBT community, announced it would not seek a vote but continue its goal to educate the public. At that time, Freeman said he was still considering a petition drive and was “still fact-finding.”

His announcement, made on the front steps of city hall, received applause from those in attendance.

Jay Peters, the only city council member present at Freeman’s announcement, said “it’s a prudent course of action.”

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/newsnow/x1672980367/Bill-Freeman-will-ask-council-to-reconsider-LGBT-non-discrimination-ordinance
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“Backers of a proposal to expand Holland’s anti-discrimination ordinance to add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes will not pursue a ballot measure to overturn last month’s City Council vote against the proposal. Instead, supporters plan to attend Wednesday’s council meeting and all future meetings until one of the five council members who voted no changes their vote.”

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GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
Grand Rapids, Michigan
July 4, 2011

Holland gay rights supporters announce plan
to get anti-discrimination ordinance passed

by Greg Chandler / The Grand Rapids Press

HOLLAND – Backers of a proposal to expand Holland’s anti-discrimination ordinance to add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes will not pursue a ballot measure to overturn last month’s City Council vote against the proposal.

Instead, supporters plan to attend Wednesday’s council meeting and all future meetings until one of the five council members who voted no changes their vote.

“I don’t think you ask the majority to vote for the rights of the minority,” said Bill Freeman, chaplain of Interfaith Congregation, who has been campaigning for the proposal for more than a year. “I don’t think Dr. (Martin Luther) King asked the people of Alabama to vote for civil rights, and I don’t think you should ask the people of Holland to vote for equal rights for all.”

Supporters of the proposal would have had to get petition language approved by the city, and then collect at least 1,310 signatures by mid-August to put it on the November ballot.

The City Council voted 5-4 June 15 against amending the city’s human relations and fair housing ordinances, as well as its equal employment policy, to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

“We’re going to try to educate them and answer any questions they might have,” Freeman said of the supporters’ plans to attend council meetings.

About 100 people gathered on the steps of City Hall Monday morning for the announcement, with many representing organizations who favor including gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people in equal rights measures. Erin Wilson, of the group Until Love Is Equal, called it a regional and economic issue.

“In a recession, you have to be pragmatic,” said Wilson, of Grand Rapids. “Major employers are not going to come into a region that declares a particular community as unequal. They just won’t.”

Opponents of the measure cite religious and moral objections to homosexuality in their position, and say that existing anti-discrimination laws are adequate. One statewide political action group, the Michigan Campaign for Families, said it would support candidates to run against three council members who voted in favor of expanding the ordinance and who are up for re-election this year.

One of those three council members, Second Ward Councilman Jay Peters, called the decision not to seek a ballot proposal “prudent,” although he would not speculate whether any of the five council members who voted against the measure would change their mind.

“I think the timeline is tight (for a ballot proposal), and to be effective and successful, I’d like to see us regroup as a community and come at it from a different angle,” Peters said.

Mayor Kurt Dykstra cast the tiebreaking vote against expanding the ordinance. Others who voted against the proposal were Councilwoman Nancy DeBoer and Councilmen Mike Trethewey, Brian Burch and Todd Whiteman.

Voting in favor of the expansion were Peters, Mayor Pro Tem Bob Vande Vusse and Councilmen Dave Hoekstra and Shawn Miller.

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/07/holland_gay_rights_supporters.html
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With gratitude for your support throughout
the year, the American Family Association of
Michigan wishes you and your family a happy
and blessed celebration of our nation’s 235th
Independence Day. Let us not forget the
Source of our liberties and our provision,
as individuals and as a nation.

And relying on Him for our provision, as we always do, please consider
being an instrument of His provision for AFA-Michigan’s work during these
summer months when contributions are down.

On June 30th, we fell short of covering all of last month’s operating costs.
Please stand with us to cover that shortfall by making a tax-deductible
contribution today at http://bit.ly/eLOdSW or by mail to AFA-Michigan,
PO Box 1904, Midland, Michigan 48641.

Thanks as always for your support, and may God bless, heal, and restore
the Christian heritage of the United States of America.

Gary Glenn, President
American Family Association of Michigan
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GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
Grand Rapids, Michigan
June 25, 2011

(COLUMN)

Gays not faring so well on the Lakeshore

by Charley Honey | The Grand Rapids Press

Although I have been accused, at times, of pushing the so-called “gay agenda,” I must confess I don’t know what it is.
Is it a plan to recruit children to become gay? To include at least one gay character in every sitcom? To impose quotas on the NFL to draft gay linebackers?

Whatever it is, the gay agenda allegedly is running loose on the Lakeshore, judging from objections to recent gay-inclusion proposals there.
The Campaign for Michigan Families, affiliated with the American Family Association, wants to help Holland residents depose City Council members who voted but failed to expand the anti-discrimination ordinance to include sexual orientation and gender identity. The AFA’s Gary Glenn vowed to support candidates running against those who “tried to impose homosexual activists’ political agenda on city residents.”

The AFA also sees the gay agenda behind some lawmakers’ efforts to include sexual orientation in a statewide anti-school bullying bill. Was fear of the gay agenda also a factor in the Saugatuck school board’s decision not to adopt a proposed coming-out video in its sex education unit on sexual harassment and bullying, even though gay students are more likely to suffer from that?

Not necessarily. Perhaps opponents simply agreed with board President Mike Van Loon that all bullying is wrong, whether “black, white, pink, purple, short, tall.”

What’s certain: Gay-rights advocates have not fared well on the Lakeshore this year. Include Hope College’s reaffirmation not to recognize campus groups contrary to the Reformed Church in America’s stance against gay relationships.

Religious debate

Religious communities are digging in on the gay issue, even as polls show more of them accepting homosexuality and gay marriage.

Pluralities of Catholics (46 percent) and white mainline Protestants (49 percent) now support gay marriage, while heavy majorities of white evangelicals (74 percent) and black Protestants (62 percent) oppose it, according to a 2010 Pew Research Center poll.

The numbers, while reflecting increasing acceptance on both personal and denominational levels, illustrate a deep persisting divide. Behind the polls, many people thoughtfully debate and discern the complexities. But the more public and polarized version pits the gay-agenda-pushers on one side against homophobes on the other.

Let’s be clear about something, that version’s played out. Just because someone opposes gay marriage doesn’t make her homophobic; she could be sincerely seeking to follow her faith and conscience. And just because someone favors it doesn’t mean he is pushing a broader agenda; he could be sincerely seeking, too.

It’s time for less demonizing and more listening in the middle.

A well-worn pastoral maxim calls for a “both-and” approach to challenging issues. Don’t divide the issue into a choice of either this position or that. Recognize both sides have something to offer and find ways to include both perspectives.

But the both-and option is in short supply in our either-or culture. When it comes to homosexuality, either you’re for legalizing gay marriage and ordaining gay ministers or not. The Bible says this; the Bible says that — end of story.

Where’s the middle ground?

As one who instinctively seeks the middle ground, I find it hard to locate here. How can you include both perspectives in such a basic clash of values? For Christians, there doesn’t seem much room for compromise between those who cite biblical passages condemning homosexual acts and those who see loving acceptance in the larger Scriptural story.

But there is room for protecting churches’ religious rights while ensuring gays’ civil rights. And there is room for listening even if you hold different views.

A lot of people still are working this out. Churches can provide a more inviting venue for people to listen to each other’s stories with respect and compassion.

Room for All is a Reformed Church in America group that seeks full participation of gays and lesbians in the RCA. While dismayed by the recent developments, Executive Director Marilyn Paarlberg says the group offers speakers to help congregations grapple graciously with the issue.
“We can find things that people on both sides of the issue can affirm, then we build from there,” Paarlberg said.

It’s a long-term construction project, but building beats tearing each other down. In a tearing-down culture, more churches should make building bridges their agenda.

http://www.mlive.com/living/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/06/charley_honey_gays_not_faring.html
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MICHIGAN MESSENGER
Lansing, Michigan
June 30, 2011

House Committee delays action on anti-bullying legislation, again
Ten years and counting for anti-bullying law to pass

by Todd A. Heywood

http://michiganmessenger.com/50376/house-committee-delays-action-on-anti-bullying-legislation-again
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