SAGINAW, MI — Saginaw City Councilwoman Annie Boensch said she hopes to stand up for a class of people that has little to no protection against discrimination under federal or state law.

Boensch is the force behind a proposed city ordinance that would guarantee city residents and visitors equal treatment in employment and public accommodations, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

"When I found out that the city did not have an ordinance in place protecting the LGBT community when it came to public accommodation and employment, I thought it was something very obvious that needed to change," she said.

The proposed ordinance will come before Saginaw City Council Monday, April 7, though city leaders, due to a city charter provision, would not be asked to consider it for approval until City Council's second meeting in April.

It seeks to ban discrimination against someone based on that person's "actual or perceived sex, sexual orientation or gender identity." Violations of the ordinance would be considered civil infractions and violators could face a fine of up to $500.

Gary Glenn is president of the American Family Association of Michigan, which has been outspoken in its opposition to efforts to pass provisions allowing same-sex marriage and ensuring LGBT equal treatment.

"We consider these ordinances to be, themselves, discriminatory," Glenn said. "It's a discriminatory solution in response to a nonexistent problem."

The conservative activist, who announced late last year his intention to seek a seat on the Michigan House of Representatives, said there are dozens of examples of how such an ordinance could harm people.

"We would, of course, encourage the Saginaw City Council to do as the Bay County Commission did, and that is to defeat this discriminatory ordinance that threatens to punish and penalize people on the basis of their moral and religious values and opposition to homosexual activity and the political agenda that promotes it," Glenn said.

The ordinance proposed in Saginaw is different than the question that recently came before Bay County leaders, Boensch explained.

The Bay County proposal, defeated narrowly in a 4-3 vote, sought to ban any discriminatory practices in county employment and contract practices.



Saginaw's ordinance would be much more inclusive, Boensch said, applying to any businesses or organizations providing employment or "public accommodations" within Saginaw city limits.

"This is not what Bay County was looking at," she said.

"This is citywide."

Boensch explained that the ordinance would prevent a business owner from denying service to someone because they are gay, lesbian or transgender. It would ensure that gender identity and sexual orientation cannot be a factor for employers when making hiring, firing and promotion decisions, she said.

Read the proposed ordinance for yourself

Most members of Saginaw City Council said they are open to the idea, though few have made up their minds about how they feel about the proposed ordinance.

"I think we need to introduce it before we discuss it in depth," Mayor Dennis Browning said. "I'm open-minded and am certainly willing to have some debate on it."

Browning said his two areas of concern deal with enforcement and what impacts, positive or negative, passing it might have on the city government and Saginaw's citizens.

"My questions are who is going to enforce it and what will it cost the community," he said. "Those are things we need to discuss."

Councilman Floyd Kloc said he has similar concerns.

"I have my reservations, as an attorney, that it's enforceable at this level" Kloc said. "I understand why she's trying to do it."

He also questioned whether this type of civil rights legislation should be undertaken at the local level of government.

"It's really something that should be at a state level," Kloc said. "It's a very charged issue. I'm up in the air on my vote."

Boensch pointed out that Saginaw has long had protections for the LGBT community when it comes to equal treatment in housing. That ordinance, she said, was passed in 1984, when she was 3 years old.

But when it comes to discrimination in other areas, Boensch explained, there are few protections under local, state or federal law.

Jay Kaplan, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan focusing on LGBT issues, explained that Michigan's Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act, passed in 1976, bans discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on religion, race, age, sex and other factors. But, Kaplan said, sexual orientation and gender identity are not part of the legal language.

"It's still legal in our state to get fired for being gay," he said. "It's not illegal."

Kaplan said the local level is a natural place for efforts like this to begin, pointing to a Detroit ordinance that preceded Michigan's landmark civil rights act and to state protections that came before federal civil rights protections.

"They're important because they show at a local level a particular value, a value of diversity," he said. "It also sends messages to landlords and employers. It puts them on notice that discrimination is not permitted."

Kaplan said local ordinances like the one being proposed in Saginaw can also help "build momentum" and puts pressure on state lawmakers to consider adding similar protections statewide.

Gary Glenn

Several attempts have been made to amend Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to add language covering sexual orientation and gender identity, though none of those have yet succeeded.

LGBT activists have seen more success at the grassroots level.

So far, 22 Michigan communities have put in place ordinances protecting against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in housing, employment or public accommodations.

Boensch said she feels it is her duty to her constituents to make sure Saginaw is part of that trend and that all residents have access to the same legal protections.

"It's my obligation," she said. "Period.

"I think this sends the right message. That Saginaw may be struggling in some aspects, but we are with the times."

Glenn argues that there are "dozens" of examples around the country where ordinances like the one being proposed in Saginaw caused people to be fired from their jobs or penalized because of their opposition to homosexuality.

"We have challenged the advocates of such ordinances to identify one example, just one, of anybody in Saginaw who has been fired from a job, lost housing or been denied service in a business because of who they have sex with," he said.

Boensch said she expects a spirited discussion between those in favor of and those opposed to the ordinance.

"It's a controversial issue," she said. "There's no doubt. I anticipate there being an outcry. But I'm just as confident that there is going to be a lot of support as well."

Mark Tower covers local government for MLive/The Saginaw News. Contact him at 989-284-4807, by email at mtower@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.