By MATT SCHOECH
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---- — In response to the Oct. 10 editorial, what was glaringly obvious by their absence were any facts relative to the misnamed non-discrimination ordinance. The problem is twofold. When you advocate for some, as this ordinance does, you automatically discriminate against others who don't have the special rights status.
Non-discrimination ordinances are warm and fuzzy feel-good political doctrines as well as bludgeoning weapons used on those who don't particularly care to celebrate someone else's publicly expressed pride of sexual proclivity. Discrimination used here is an emotionally charged, loaded word that is built on negative assumptions.
And, how do you know someone is gay in the first place? Is there a sign over their head, or, do they tell you?
The other part of the problem is that all of us have been complacent when we have allowed government to establish group rights status. All rights come from God and not the government bayonet.
Local, state or federal laws that are enacted to grant a civil right or otherwise act to promote special rights protections for groups undermine the basic tenants of the U.S. constitutional principle under which our country was founded. Our laws are based on individual rights — not group rights. A gay right is fallacious and is a fiction. (Federalist Papers 10).
Individuals who self identify as homosexuals vote, own property and participate in the democratic process — as they should. The only areas currently not permitted (discriminated against and rightly so) is in donating blood (men who have had sex with men are prohibited) and in marriage, where the voters of Michigan kept the backdoor method of legislating morality closed.
Adding sexual orientation to a manipulating new non-discrimination ordinance adds even more divisiveness to diversity and furthers the legislative practice that some are more equal than others.
The accompanying literature prefacing the proposed ordinance stated that this was not a special rights ordinance. Then the rest of the proposed ordinance establishes what was previously denied. Marshall Persky the chairman of the Human Rights Commission, even stated publicly that the ordinance was a special protection ordinance. Special "protections" are special rights.
The Ordinance goes further by establishing in Section 605.09 exemptions, "To engage in a bona fide effort to establish an affirmative action program to improve opportunities in employment consistent with state and federal law." So does Traverse City now work to obviate the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative that banned affirmative action programs four years ago? It should be clear to almost any interpretation of this ordinance that the non-discrimination game has an ulterior motive.
What most advocates who promote the idea of non-discrimination are really advocating is that the Judeo-Christian ethic of 2000-plus years is wrong relative to homosexual sex. But, "It's who I am," as Commissioner Jim Carruthers has publicly said. Wrong. When your compass is off, your orientation is amiss. We are much more than sexual beings if we follow the natural-law design manual of our Creator.
About the author: Matt Schoech of Traverse City is a former member of the Traverse City Human Rights Commission
About the forum: The forum is a periodic column of opinion written by Record-Eagle readers in their areas of interest or expertise. Submissions of 500 words or less may be made by e-mailing letters@record-eagle.com. Please include biographical information and a photo.
