By Howard Israel
I strongly oppose any sort of LGBT-related ballot initiative in Michigan! History shows, we are the losers when gay rights are put to a popular vote. Civil rights protections should NEVER EVER be put to a popular vote!
We need to take a synchronized, strategic long view to amending Michigan's non-discrimination law, the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, by first electing gay and gay-friendly candidates to Michigan's governing bodies. We then need to work through the legislature to amend Elliott-Larsen.
If Dana Nessel's committee succeeds in creating a ballot question for Michigan's voters to make the decision about the civil rights of LGBTQ people, we are very likely to lose. Across the years and the country, the history of ballot initiatives aimed at expanding the civil rights of LGBTQ people is heartbreaking. Generally, voters have decided against us. With acute pain, I remember our attempt in 2004 to stop the constitutional ban on marriage equality in Michigan. We lost not only the ballot initiative, but also we lost valuable spirit, energy, time and lots and lots of money. A proposed anti-discrimination ballot initiative in Michigan, as proposed by Nessel, is estimated to cost between $12-16 million. Much of that money would be spent on defending ourselves from the falsehoods and propaganda promulgated by our horrible opponents. That money could be much better used strengthening and building our LGBTQ community nonprofit service organizations.
I recognize that recent polls show increased levels of support by the general public in Michigan towards LGBTQ equality. But I am genuinely concerned that an ill-advised, irresponsible, badly-timed LGBTQ-issue ballot initiative in Michigan right now would bring forth the "hounds of hell" — the malicious and lying anti-gay, arch-conservative operatives/terrorists (political and religious) who exploit LGBT issues to increase their power and fill their wallets. If we are forced to defend the proposed ballot initiative in Michigan, massive amounts of money will need to be raised. Where will the funds come from? Michigan's LGBTQ community organizations — and the donors who support them — are already financially stretched. Why should they be asked to raise money for a potentially-doomed ballot initiative instead of their own programs?
And who will pay the price beyond money? Who pays the emotional price of a long, ugly and vicious ballot campaign? We learned from the anti-gay, anti-trans onslaught in Houston, Texas and from past gay-related ballot initiatives that the individuals who are most harmed are already our most vulnerable: trans people, poor people, LGBTQ youth, and disproportionately, LGBT people of color – people who would be demonized by a political campaign of anti-gay lies. In fact, all LGBTQA people will incur an emotional toll by seeing our lives insulted and discredited in public by despicable fabrications in the media, on billboards, and in mailings that come into our computers and homes. We know that anti-gay rhetoric during ballot initiative campaigns increases the likelihood of verbal abuse, harassment, overt discrimination and sometime physical violence. If, as in Houston, trans women take the brunt of the political attacks, trans women of color may especially in danger of violence and murder.
As you may know, Houston, Texas has recently been engaged in the battle for gay and transgender rights over the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) – the first major initiative since the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide this spring. The ordinance prohibits "discrimination in city employment and city services, city contracts, public accommodations, private employment, and housing" based on sexual preference or gender identity. To get the law repealed, the fanatical opposition worked diligently to distort the truth with wild scare tactics, spreading the accusations of male molesters/predators dressed as women, lurking in bathrooms, waiting to pounce on girls and women.
In Houston, the pro-HERO ordinance supporters out-spent the anti-gay/anti-ordinance campaign by 7-1. AND – very, very sadly – the pro-HERO side lost. Pro-LGBT support struggled to maintain its support level. The anti-ordinance side won by telling lies, lies, and more lies about LGBTQ people, especially targeting Trans women and restrooms. The opposition established fear in voters and voters giving in to their fears, and stopped their support. When it comes down to it, in the privacy of the voting booth, people vote their fears, regardless of how much LGBTQ support pollsters report.
So… why am I connecting what happened in Houston with the proposed ballot initiative in Michigan? Because Nessel's proposed ballot initiative is an invitation to poisonous, wicked anti-gay activists/terrorists – inside and outside of Michigan – who are salivating to stop any progress made by a successful LGBTQA movement. Given the political nature of Michigan today, would anti-gay activists respond to a ballot initiative by launching religious freedom legislation that would allow biased religious business owners to openly discriminate? Who knows? But why offer an invitation that would open ourselves up to the risk?
Since losing their fight against marriage equality, anti-LGBT activists/terrorists have made the defeat of efforts to add sexual orientation and gender identity to non-discrimination policies a central aim of their fight against LGBT equality. By characterizing non-discrimination laws as a threat to religious freedom and personal safety, conservatives are hoping to hijack the conversation about even the most basic legal protections for LGBT people.
As the fourth largest city in the country, Houston is a test case for anti-LGBT conservatives in what works successfully in their efforts to dismantle non-discrimination policies. We know that anti-gay operatives repeat successful misinformation and fear-mongering techniques in one city and state after another. Why would we think Dana Nessel's proposed ballot initiative would be immune to the fear-mongering techniques that are appearing around the country?
Can Michigan Trust Popular Vote On LGBTQ Civil Rights?
Can Michigan's LGBTQA community afford to have our civil rights voted on by the general public? Can we naively trust that a popular vote would be favorable to us? Can we afford to lose precious spirit, energy, time, and money that could otherwise be better-utilized to strengthen Michigan's LGBTQA community?
MY ANSWER IS NO! I strongly oppose any sort of LGBT-related ballot initiative in Michigan!
I totally agree with Steph White, Equality Michigan's new executive director, whose multi-year plan to add sexual orientation and gender identity to Michigan Nondiscrimination Policy includes:
1) Winning over more and more friends in the Legislature who will stand with us;
2) Strengthening the skills and capacity of organizations all across the LGBT movement to work smarter and in coordination towards our common goal;
3) Educating and engaging our allies such as the labor movement, the business community and faith communities, among others;
4) Correcting the fears and misconceptions that the general public now has about what expanding our rights means, or doesn't mean, for them.
This is an excellent plan.
Let's keep LGBTQ issues out of the voting booth!
Let's focus on building more effective coalitions with our friends and allies.
Let's elect political candidates who are trustworthy and honest; on whom we can depend to represent LGBTQA issues truthfully and justly!
That's my view and I'm stickin' to it!
