by Sharon Gittleman
FERNDALE-
Tom Hitchman never planned to be a community activist. Then came Proposal 2's limitation of marriage to one man and one woman.
"It wrote discrimination into the state Constitution," said Hitchman, a General Motors executive. "That's what kicked us off."
"Us" are members of the LGBT and allied communities who came together to form The Peninsula Group, an organization devoted to working out strategies to help Michigan achieve full equality for all it's residents.
His business responsibilities have recently taken Hitchman to Florida, at the company's headquarters for GM's Latin America, Africa and Middle East operations.
"I'm the director of product planning and I'm responsible for the regional planning board," he said.
His partner, Keith Hewitt, a manager at Borders Books in Birmingham, will be moving with him.
"We're keeping our house here and have a condo in Florida," said Hitchman. "We can come back to Michigan for the summer for a few weeks."
The Peninsula Group came together after the Proposal 2 vote in 2004.
"Community leaders said we were outstrategized," he said. "We were insulted by the outcome and wanted to volunteer our business skills to change things."
Hitchman said before the ballot initiative he was a "checkbook activist."
"I'd go to functions by Triangle, HRC and Affirmations, but I wasn't really involved," he said.
Opponents of the measure could have won if they had gotten a head start, he said.
"It was too little too late," he said. "We were moving in numbers by the end."
The outcome left him angry.
"I was disappointed by the people in Michigan who didn't take the time to understand the issue," he said. "They were fooled into voting, 'yes.'"
He found himself jumping into action.
"I went door to door, handed out literature, I spoke with LGBT employee resource groups," he said. "We had never been attacked in such a way."
Two years after it's formation, The Peninsula Group is gone, with a new association taking it's place.
The change follows a summit in Ann Arbor held in mid-May between 85 participants from 31 LGBT and gay-friendly organizations, big and small from across the state. The group decided to form the new association, to help gay, lesbian, transgender and allied organizations communicate and collaborate, avoiding duplications of efforts.
"That will accelerate our move towards full equality," he said. "What we're finding is the momentum is in our favor."
The future looks bright for the LGBT community, he said
"I think in Michigan we'll see a series of continuous slow steps and some major breakthroughs," he said. "Ultimately, it will become a non-issue."
Hitchman has lived in Egypt and Switzerland and traveled extensively through Europe and the Middle East, during his 23-year career with GM.
"In Switzerland, being gay is a non-issue," he said. "We didn't find many LGBT organizations in Switzerland. They didn't need community organizations. Everyone was integrated into the community."
It was the same story for him in Egypt.
"Living in Egypt, we were welcomed into the country. Being gay was not an issue," he said. "America largely has a lot of hang-ups, a lot of bigotry and frustration. We need to get over it."
GM doesn't fit into that category, said Hitchman.
"I came out at work in '94," he said. "When getting an international assignment, your private life becomes part of the business."
He called his manager and said they needed to talk.
"I told him I was gay and my partner will be moving with me. Will that be a problem?" he said. "They were tremendously supportive. I'm one of only two openly gay GM executives."
He met his partner Keith Hewitt at a St. Patrick's day celebration at a club in Detroit. They've been together for 17 years.
The couple will miss living full-time in Michigan.
"Keith and I aren't really enamored about Florida," he said. Keith and I like the snow. Both our families live in Michigan."
There are other reasons for his nostalgia for his community.
"We've got state universities that are inclusive, supportive and high caliber," he said. "We've got businesses here that recognize the importance of inclusiveness."
