By BTL Staff
WAYLAND – The city of Wayland, located between Plainwell and Grand Rapids in west Michigan, became Michigan's 39th city to adopt a non-discrimination ordinance protecting LGBT individuals.
The Wayland City Council adopted a non-discrimination ordinance on a 6-0 vote May 18 after months of consideration.
According to Wayland City Manager Michael Selden, the ordinance would go above and beyond the non-discrimination protections already offered by federal and state laws.
Sexual orientation and gender identity are two classes not listed in the statewide Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which protects individuals against harassment and discrimination on the basis of classes such as height, weight, age, race, sex and many others.
The measure is a response to the outcry after Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed a law permitting people to discriminate against the LGBT community based on deeply held religious beliefs and was championed by former United Church of Wayland pastor R.J. Hronek and Council President at United Church of Wayland, Coleen Young.
Young worked closely with Hronek and is the former head of the GSA at Wayland Union High School. She and Hronek submitted their request to the city 18 months ago, MLive reports, and believes that LGBT people often worry about discrimination and the possibility of losing their job, housing or rights due to their sexual orientation and gender identity.
"The city of Wayland, as of a few minutes ago, now has a nondiscrimination ordinance protecting not only people of color but also the LGBT community. This means protection for ALL when it comes to housing, hiring, firing and purchasing goods within the city. The ordinance passed unanimously with no one from the community speaking against the ordinance. Special thanks to R.J. Hronek for all the work you did to get this ordinance to the council," she wrote on her Facebook following the vote last Monday.
The city of Wayland has a population of around 4,079 and is located in Allegan County.
