Go Kalamazoo for making it safe for LGBT!

Election day was today. It may not be a national one, but it was an important one. Especially for LGBT rights in Kalamazoo, MI.

The One Kalamazoo campaign for Ordinance 1856 is one that I feel passionate about. I volunteered for the campaign last week. The passing of the Ordinance would change the current anti-discrimination law to include LGBT. Allowing them to work and live in an environment that is non-discriminatory based upon sexuality. This also includes full access to restrooms for transgendered people (everyone for that matter).

Anyway, I spent my Friday afternoon calling people that previously pledged that they would vote in favor of the Ordinance to remind them that election day was on Tuesday. The calling was also to reiterate the fact that voting in this election, and in favor of Ordinance 1856, was important for the city of Kalamazoo. (Most progressives don’t vote in every election, it is the conservatives that usually make their way to the polls.) Most of the conversations I had were good. One guy made the comment that he voted “the right way” and that we should “send the bigots back to Alabama.” (I’m not sure how I feel about that last part. It almost sounds as discriminatory as the opposition)

With any campaign that strives for equality, it has been met with serious, and in some cases ridiculous, opposition. Honestly, I never understood why anyone would vote against an anti-discrimination law. I believe that it is usually tied to something intangible, like religion and heterosexual privilege. I had a conversation with one gay man that said he would call up members of the opposition asking them what their reasons were for voting against Ordinance 1856. He called the Salvation Army, and they told him that by voting for the Ordinance they would no longer be able to provide help to the poor. How is that in any way connected to giving homosexuals, transgendered, and bisexuals the freedom to not be fired from their workplace or rejected for housing?

Regardless of the opposition’s propaganda and late night prayer meetings, I am glad to report that Ordinance 1856 has passed in Kalamazoo with a strong lead of 2,000+ votes (more than the outstanding absentee ballots).