Lansing City Council Jody Washington.jpg

First Ward Lansing City Councilwoman Jody Washington's resolution formally calling for an end to the sister city relationship between Michigan's capital city and St. Petersburg, Russia was adopted Monday night.

(MLive file photo)

LANSING — Municipal leaders in Michigan's capital city have made clear their repudiation of St. Petersburg, Russia's anti-LGBT agenda.

On Monday, they took it a step further.

The Lansing City Council voted 7-0 to adopt a resolution calling for an end to its sister city ties with Russia's second-largest city, which was the birthplace of the country's new federal law that bans all expression of homosexuality. At-Large Councilwoman Kathie Dunbar was not present for the vote.

"This is an important issue at this time," said 1st Ward Councilwoman Jody Washington, the architect of the resolution. It's "an emotional shot in the arm to our LGBT (colleagues) in St. Petersburg."

Washington

, and a similar resolution came up for vote on July 29 but was tabled due to

RELATED: Ending sister-city relationship over gay rights differences is short-sighted, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero says

Washington revised the resolution "after much deliberation and consternation," she said. It calls for the Lansing Regional Sister Cities Commission, the governing body that cultivates such international ties throughout the Lansing area, to sever all ties with St. Petersburg.

The resolution says the commission has "some form of a relationship" with St. Petersburg, a phrase Washington said she worded carefully as "nobody seems to be clear" as to the exact nature of St. Petersburg's ties with Lansing.

Bernero's office previously cited information from the regional and international sister cities commissions that suggests Lansing's sister city ties with St. Petersburg, which began in 1992, already were defunct.

"To me, it doesn't matter," Washington said. "Whatever is out there, I would like it ended."

Her resolution says "the Lansing City Council strongly condemns the widespread abuses of human rights" in Russia and calls for removal of all mentions of St. Petersburg from Lansing's website and signage, as well as an annual report "summarizing current human rights issues and challenges in each of Lansing's sister cities." Washington noted St. Petersburg had already been removed from the city's website, but its name remains on multiple signs placed along roadways welcoming motorists to Lansing.

RELATED: Poll: Who's right about Lansing's sister-city relationship with St. Petersburg?

Second Ward Councilwoman Tina Houghton said she was concerned the resolution would send a message to citizens of St. Petersburg that Lansing does not support them. Washington said she has heard reaction to the contrary.

"I just want you all to be clear that I have heard from people in St. Petersburg and they are very happy that we are putting this forward," Washington said. "This is not the citizens, it's the policies and it's the government, so absolutely not the people."

Lansing joins the likes of Milan, Italy, the fashion capital that cut its sister city ties with St. Petersburg late last year; Los Angeles, where city officials are reconsidering their sister city relationship with Russia's second-largest city; and pop star Lady GaGa, who has publicly denounced Russia's anti-LGBT agenda.

"I think all of us that sit at this dais believe that this is extremely important," Lansing City Council President Carol Wood said. We "want to make sure that we're supporting the LGBT community not only in our own city but in cities across the world.

"When we see atrocities like this, this is how we speak, through our resolutions... This is our opportunity to say that this is not right."

Other news

Lansing City Clerk Chris Swope reported on Monday he and his staff have begun the process of verifying thousands of signatures for a

submitted to his office last week.

The Coalition for a Safer Lansing turned in more than 6,000 signatures for the measure, which would legal the possession, use and transfer of up to an ounce of marijuana by persons at least 21 years old on private property in Lansing. In order to be placed on the November ballot, the initiative must have obtained signatures equivalent to 5 percent of Lansing's total number of registered voters, which comes out to about 4,200 people.

Swope said last week a cursory review indicated the measure satisfied legal requirements for the ballot. He said he expects to have the initiative completely vetted within two weeks.

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