By Dave Coulter
As we begin another month of Pride in Michigan, it's impossible to ignore the significant change that has occurred since we met a year ago. Then, I carried on the tradition of Ferndale mayors before me officiating commitment ceremonies for same-sex couples who wished to publicly express their love for each other. I was happy to continue an act that helped lend a measure of dignity to what was otherwise a wholly unfair and discriminatory policy towards these couples.
When Ferndale Pride happens this June 4, however, I'll now get to do what I've done every month since the historic Supreme Court ruling last June, and what I was proud to be the first mayor in Michigan to do: legally marry same-sex couples. Many of the couples I have had the honor of marrying have been together for decades. Some had given up hope that they would ever see the day their relationship would be granted equal status under the law. Marriage equality was a turning point in the struggle for civil rights in America, and the fact it finally happened in our lifetimes gives festival goers a new and important reason to be proud this month.
My advice is to enjoy, celebrate and then get back to work, because if you haven't noticed, the opponents of marriage equality have not unilaterally disarmed in the face of their defeat. Some, like Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis, simply refused to obey the law. Encouraged, and used, by politicians like Republican Mike Huckabee and others, Ms. Davis willfully ignored her duty (she also presented a stark contrast to my own county clerk, Lisa Brown, who forcefully and proudly opened her office to process the new marriages).
Other opponents have backed off of marriage equality, for now, in search of other wedge issues and prejudices they can scare the country and the electorate into believing. Most troubling of these is the recent attacks on the rights of the transgender community to live dignified lives without fear of harm or persecution. States like North Carolina and Mississippi have written new discriminations into their laws even as they work to repeal the advances many thought we had forever secured.
I'm proud that Ferndale has put economic sanctions in place against these states, but it's a reminder that we must be ever vigilant in our fight to bring full equality to all people in this country. An attack on any of our rights is an attack on us all, which is why the LGBT community in particular must also take seriously the hateful rhetoric coming from the Republican nominee for president this year towards Muslims, Mexicans, women, immigrants and others. Donald Trump has given voice to a fear and prejudice that is all too familiar, as he's now supported by the same groups and people who have fought marriage and LGBT equality for so long. Make no mistake… when he's finished punishing immigrants, the LGBT community will be an appealing target for his followers.
This November, equality demands that LGBT citizens again need to fight those extremists who would take our country backwards. I'm proud that the presumptive Democratic nominee for president is a woman who, as Secretary of State, included LGBT rights in a comprehensive human rights agenda and promoted equality as a core value of the U.S. — and who declared to the world that "gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights."
Hillary Clinton and the Democrats offer just as stark a contrast to Donald Trump as Lisa Brown did to Kim Davis. Enjoy Pride, celebrate that you can love and marry anyone you choose, and bask in the long overdue successes that have defined this past year. Just know that the struggle continues, and you're needed now as much as ever.
