by Jessica Carreras
TRAVERSE CITY –
After a decade of trying, months of heated debate, right-wing scare tactics and skepticism voiced by some city commissioners, the Traverse City City Commission on Oct. 4 unanimously approved an anti-discrimination ordinance.
The ordinance, written by the city's Human Rights Commission, outlaws discrimination against gays within city limits in areas such as employment and housing.
Monday's vote brought a record number of residents to the City Commission meeting, who discussed their views on the issue for an hour before it was brought to vote. It was the culmination of both months of public discourse on the subject, and an on-and-off battle that was first waged a decade ago.
At that time, opponents of the ordinance brought a ballot measure before voters that would prevent the City Commission from passing any pro-LGBT ordinance. That measure was overwhelmingly voted down, but the ordinance itself was pushed into the background until earlier this year, when Traverse City Commissioner Jim Carruthers, who is openly gay, and the Human Rights Commission began talks to revive it.
Carruthers told Between The Lines in August that he believed that this time, the ordinance effort would be successful.
"I think Traverse City has grown and gotten more progressive and more open to everyone's rights," he said. "I think we want to carve the message out that it's about civil protections and civil rights."
Mayor Chris Bzdok agreed, addressing the concern at Monday's meeting that the ordinance would hurt local businesses.
"If there's evidence out there about a negative impact on business in any of the other Michigan cities that have passed these, I would like to see that," he said, according to the Traverse City Record-Eagle. "The opponents of this ordinance have brought us no evidence that there's an actual negative impact on business anywhere that's done this, and I would argue the places that have done this are thriving."
Opponents of the measure, led by resident Paul Napote, have vowed to collect the 482 necessary petition signatures needed to turn the law to a vote in a special election, the Record-Eagle reported. If they are successful, that vote could take place as early as February.
