The township of Saugatuck, Mich., a gay tourist attraction and popular destination for many LGBT Chicagoans, unanimously passed a new ordinance that prohibits sexual orientation discrimination on July 11.
A small group of people petitioned the township in April, pushing for an ordinance in this small town. The following month, the board expressed wanting a resolution instead, due to concerns. The idea was tabled until July, but local activists continued to stress the importance of getting a protective law on the books.
Jon Helmrich, co-chair of the Saugatuck Stonewall Democrats, said that although he is surprised it took so long for this diverse community and gay travel destination to pass such an ordinance, he is very pleased. ‘It was exciting to see the board go from voting 3-2 or whatever at that first meeting, to passing the ordinance unanimously two weeks ago,’ he added.
Individuals claiming discrimination have 30 days to file a written complaint. If a person admits to violating the ordinance, they will be fined $100 for the first violation, $250 for the second violation and $500 for the third and subsequent violations.
If the accused denies the allegation, their response is placed on file in order to keep a public record.
A small group of individuals worked quietly under the radar with the board, taking a slightly different approach than other attempts to get an ordinance, said local activist Herb Bills, who worked closely with the commissioners to educate them and help convince them that this was the right thing to do.
‘We did it as an informal group,’ Bills said. ‘A couple of us got together and said we wanted to do it quietly. We tried to put this through the City of Saugatuck 10 or 12 years ago. There was a committee and there was an ‘us vs. them’ mentality. It became very contentious and basically got us nowhere.’
So, this time around, a few decided to not turn this into a large press issue or take it to the streets. ‘We tried to not put the township commissioners in a box,’ Bills added, ‘so we could have a dialogue and have a conversation that was non-threatening. And at the end of the day, we were able to get something on the books.’
One of the issues board members had was that that many thought that protections were already in place for LGBT people, Bills and Helmrich said. Bills added that he was surprised by this assumption that sexual orientation is a protected class. Board members needed to be educated that Michigan lacks statewide protection, and that even this diverse and gay-friendly township needed to get something on the books.
Another concern that took time to overcome, Bills added, was the assumption that this is a state issue, not a local one. A ban on sexual orientation discrimination has been proposed at the state level a number of times over the years, but without success.
‘We need to do things at the local level because that influences things on the state level. We had to get people to believe the impact you can have on the local level, and that we are not a protected class.’ Bills said.
Saugatuck becomes the fifteenth community in the state to pass such an ordinance. Helmrich hopes that this passage will help convince the city of Saugatuck to adopt a similar ordinance. The neighboring city of Douglas adopted an ordinance in the mid-’90s.
‘This is a classic example that working methodically and non-confrontationally can really take you places,’ Helmrich said.
Bills said that convincing the city of Saugatuck is proving to be a more difficult task. Of the seven-member board, two members have expressed severe opposition to having an ordinance, even though they advertise in a gay tourist guide to local businesses, according to Bills. This fight, he added, has become quite contentious.
‘People assume that Saugatuck is very gay, and the city of Saugatuck or elements of the city are very opposed to having anything on the books,’ said Bills, who added that there are conservatives in the area. ‘I call it our reverse coming out.’