TRAVERSE CITY —
Gabbi Commins doesn't understand why people would want to remove an ordinance to prevent discrimination against gay people if Traverse City already has one on the books.
"Why would anyone want to take it off?" said Commins, a young mother and NMC student who lives in Traverse City's Central neighborhood. "It's at least a security blanket for people who feel they would be discriminated against."
More than a year has passed since Traverse City adopted an ordinance that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. A vocal group of opponents collected signatures to force a referendum and voters like Commins will have a chance to weigh in on Nov. 8. A "yes" vote would keep the ordinance in effect.
Paul Nepote helped gather signatures to bring the issue before voters. He said the ordinance creates legal headaches for business owners who could face discrimination claims when they had legitimate reasons for hiring or firing someone.
"What happens when the employer says, 'OK, he didn't come to work, that's why I fired him.' Now the employer has to prove he's not guilty," Nepote said. "The employer is guilty till proven innocent and that's wrong."
Nepote said the ordinance singles out a specific group for special treatment.
"We all have equal rights. Equality is for everybody. But this makes some people more equal than others," Nepote said. "You're giving people special rights because of who, what or how they have sex."
"That's absolute nonsense," countered Ross Richardson. The Grand Traverse County commissioner also serves on the steering committee for Traverse City Equality, which encourages voters to support the ordinance.
Richardson said gay people are "probably the last class of people that some folks think it's OK to discriminate against."
"It's not special rights, it's that people have equal rights. It's about equality," he said.
City officials passed the ordinance more than a year ago to "close the gap" in existing civil rights laws. Federal and state laws prevent discrimination based on religion, race and a host of other criteria, but sexual orientation isn't covered.
The ordinance followed years of bitter debate concerning discrimination based on sexual orientation. More than 10 years ago commissioners passed a watered-down and legally nonbinding anti-discrimination resolution after months of discussion.
Opponents later secured a measure on a city election ballot that sought to prevent the city from passing an anti-discrimination ordinance, but voters soundly defeated that measure in November 2001.
Richardson hopes the Nov. 8 vote will put the issue to rest.
"This whole issue of rights based on sexual orientation, or denial of rights -- it's been eating away at this town for a long time," he said.
Richardson acknowledges discrimination likely will continue, but the ordinance ensures that such behavior won't have the public's approval.
"It's a public statement that you can't use this reason solely and publicly to discriminate against someone," he said. "It isn't just symbolic, but also a statement about how we treat people."
Nepote called it a "feel-good measure" that advances a homosexual agenda with the ultimate goal of overturning Michigan's Defense of Marriage Act that prohibits marriage between same-sex couples.
"The bottom line is "¦ this ordinance is being used as a linchpin for turning over the marriage protection act in Michigan," he said. "It's part of a political agenda."
Nepote called homosexuality "unnatural" and a dangerous lifestyle.
"It's a personal thing whether or not I accept a gay lifestyle as normal or healthy. That's my choice. You can't legislate my acceptance of homosexuals," he said. "The city shouldn't be delving into this. This isn't their business."
Traverse City resident Marlene Curtiss has similar concerns. She hasn't made up her mind whether she will vote "yes" on Nov. 8, but said the city is being "ordinanced to death."
"I'm wondering if it's needed. I don't want people to be discriminated against -- it's not right. But there are so many ordinances, they just keep going on and on and on. "¦ it seems like we just keep adding another and another," she said. "People ought to know better than to discriminate against people. This isn't going to stop them from feeling the way they do."
Michelle Honer, who lives on West Front Street, wishes the ordinance were unnecessary and that people could be trusted to be fair to others.
"But that would be naïve. The reality is, it's needed," she said. "It's too bad that we have to go through all this."
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