Bay County ban on sexual identity- and gender identity- based discrimination to head before Board of Commissioners

Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, speaks against a proposed ordinance extending anti-discrimination protection to include sexual orientation and gender identity on Tuesday, Jan. 7. The committee voted to send the ordinance to the county's Board of Commissioners the following week. (Sam Easter | MLive.com)

AUBURN, MI — Auburn resident Jeff Gillman says he's less than impressed with an automated phone call he received at his home on Thursday, Feb. 6. Placed by the American Family Association of Michigan, it urged Gillman to oppose an ordinance banning discrimination against LGBT individuals by Bay County.



"I don't remember the particulars, but the sentiment was that if this passed it would affect many rights that didn't seem to have anything to do with LGBT issues," he said. "I actually had some company over, so I didn't attend to the message very strongly, and I just let it ramble on so it could spend that much time not bugging anyone else. I certainly don't agree with the sentiment in the message."

Gillman wasn't the only one who received a call last Thursday. Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, said the roughly 60-second recorded message went out to a number of Bay County registered voters.

The content of the calls, Glenn said, was largely aimed at motivating Bay County residents to contact their county commissioners to oppose the ordinance and a request that they attend a Tuesday, Feb. 11, public hearing on the issue, slated for 4 p.m. at the Bay County Building, 515 Center Ave. in downtown Bay City.

The calls state that Bay County's proposed ordinance is "a discriminatory law that threatens religious freedom and women's privacy rights by giving special protections to individuals involved in homosexual behavior or cross-dressing." Furthermore, it asks recipients to attend the meeting and call their commissioner and "urge him to vote against this discriminatory ordinance."

Gillman said he took issue with the call.

"I have a family member who's openly gay, and it takes a long time sometimes to change society," Gillman said. "I just wonder how people are going to be embarrassed in the future about fighting this, just the way people were embarrassed about fighting (against) civil rights. I'm all for LGBT rights and have been for a number of years … it's just sad that it's taking so long to get this through and that there's so much hate out there."

Glenn, however, stands by his opinions.

"Individuals are free to live however they choose to live," Glenn said. "I don't think most anybody has any interest in what they do in private. Our concern is the policy implications and the proven record of the use of these ordinances to discriminate against those who disagree with these policies."

Glenn points to a number of examples to support his arguments, including a Washington Post article and an NPR article detailing businesses penalized for not serving LGBT individuals, among others.

"These are violations of religious liberty that are not theoretical, they're fact, and they're the result of a law that is proven to be used to discriminate against and punish individuals and organizations that refuse to endorse this behavior and political agenda," he said.

In addition to his position with the AFA, Glenn is a Republican candidate for the Michigan House of Representatives in the 98th District, currently held by State Rep. Jim Stamas, R-Midland. Additionally, he is one two co-authors of Michigan's constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, which was approved by 59 percent of voters in 2004.

When Glenn was asked whether he believed LGBT individuals should be discriminated against, he responded by saying, "I do not believe that a Christian bookstore should be required by law to hire a man who comes to work wearing a dress … We're talking about behavioral characteristics, not immutable characteristics like skin color."

Bay County's proposed ordinance, however, would not impact decisions made by private businesses. It only applies to all direct employment and services provided by Bay County. According to Bay County corporation counsel Martha Fitzhugh, the ordinance will prevent discrimination in services provided by any county contractors, and that Bay County contractors will be barred from employment discrimination as well.

Bay County Commissioner Don Tilley, D-6th District, who sponsored the ordinance, gave the example that while the Bay County Golf Course will be bound by the law's language, a private business across the street will not.

Tilley said he didn't receive a robo-call, but is aware of it.

Bay County Commissioner Don Tilley, D-6th District

"Obviously, I'm not on his list, either," Tilley said. "I've read what a friend of mine had given me of what the text of the call was. I've had a few people email me in opposition to it, but my total number of people in opposition — total — is 17." Previously, Tilley has said he received more than 200 emails in support of the measure.

Tilley characterized Glenn's tactics as fear-mongering, and gave it short shrift.

"This is what people can do who despise people," he said. "They generate a movement of hate and fear. Some people will hate (LGBT individuals) as a result of this stuff, and other people will fall into the line of fear, that they're going to overrun them. We've been living with gays in our community since the dawn of time, and most of them are pretty good people."

— Sam Easter is a general assignment reporter for The Bay City Times. He can be reached at seaster@mlive.com.