Citizens demand equal rights

LANSING – Two hundred people gathered at the Capitol steps to demand protections for LGBT individuals and families as new lawmakers began their first session of the year Jan. 12.
Representative Chris Kolb (D – Ann Arbor) addressed the rally and called for amending the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to add sexual orientation and gender identity. Elliott-Larsen protects against discrimination in housing, employment, and accommodations, but sexual orientation is not one of the protected groups.
Kolb also called for including sexual orientation in hate crimes law.
"We are just one of the faces of Michigan, just as you are," Kolb said as he introduced his mother, Betty Jo Kolb, and his partner, Jay Witherspoon, who stood beside him.
Kolb spoke about the diversity of LGBT families, remarking that shows like "Will and Grace" do not fully represent the community. "The breadth and the diversity of our community is much greater," he said.
Kolb also addressed the issues of moral values. "It is not a moral and just society that does not allow equality for all of us," he said. "We can not allow Michigan to pretend it is a moral and just state when our families are not allowed to be recognized."
"Our march for equality is linked to everyone else's march for equality," he said. "The march for equality is long and hard and it continues."
Kolb was introduced by Jeffrey Montgomery, executive director of the Triangle Foundation. "We will not accept the judgment and presumption that we are second class citizens," Montgomery said.
One of the rally's principal organizers, Stephen Eddins, also spoke at the rally. Eddins told of how he and his partner wrapped their home in black funeral bunting following the 2004 election. "I decided on December 17 that we were going to move from mourning to action," he said. Dec. 17 was the day the anti-gay marriage amendment approved by Michigan voters went into effect.
Eddins said he is feeling hopeful. "Our country can change," he said. "We really can hope for the day we can all be equal."
Those gathered at the Capitol were encouraged to lobby their legislators. "These women and men are in a position to be on the side of justice and fairness or they may take the opposite stand as they write the laws of this state," said Penny Gardner of Michigan Equality. "You hold the key to what stand they will take."
"Women and men here, as legislators, represent you," she continued. "They do it so much better when you look them in the eye and say, 'You represent me, and this is what I want.'"
Other Michigan legislators that addressed the rally were Senator Gilda Jacobs (D – District 14), who told the crowd to "keep the faith;" Rep. Aldo Vagnozzi (D – District 37), who said he was disappointed in the 2004 election results, "including the top;" and Rep. Andy Meisner (D – District 27). "We took a step back but there are many of us still in the trenches and we have a lot of fight left in us," Meisner said.
"Protecting Our Families: A Rally in Support of Fairness for the LGBT Community" was organized by a coalition of LGBT and allied organizations to express continued protest and resistance to anti-gay and anti-family measures such as the recently passed Proposal 2.
Sponsors of the rally include: Affirmations Lesbian and Gay Community Center; ACLU of Michigan; American Friends Service Committee; Between The Lines; Central Michigan University Office of Gay and Lesbian Programs; Closets R 4 Clothes; Coalition for Adoption Rights Equality (CARE); La Comunidad; Detroit Black Gay Pride; Eastern Michigan University LGBT Resource Center; Fair Michigan Majority; Faith Action Network; Outreach Committee of Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church; HIV/AIDS Resource Center (HARC); Human Rights Campaign, Michigan Chapter; Kalamazoo Gay/Lesbian Resource Center; Michigan Equality; Michigan Positive Action Coalition (MI-Poz); Michigan Pride; Michigan State University's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Student Association; Michigan State University Office of LGBT Concerns; Midwest AIDS Prevention Project (MAPP); National Association of Social Workers – Michigan; Northside Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor; Perceptions; PFLAG Detroit; PFLAG Genesee County; PFLAG Jackson; PFLAG Tri-Cities; Pride at Work – Michigan; Project YES (Youth for Equality and Safety); Progressive Action Toward an Equal Michigan; Rowan Education Network; Ruth Ellis Center; Stonewall Democrats, University of Michigan Chapter; Transgender Michigan; Triangle Foundation; University of Michigan LGBT Commission; University of Michigan Office of LGBT Affairs; Washtenaw Rainbow Action Project (WRAP).