Nihil Obstat

Priests Urge Rejection of Antidiscrimination Ordinance

Priests at three Hamtramck, Michigan Catholic  churches are urging voters to reject an antidiscrimination ordinance that includes legal protection for gay people.

“We have to keep the morals and have the regular families and bring up children according to God’s law,” said Rev. Miroslaw Frankowski, pastor of St. Florian Catholic Church. “Keep it the way it was from the beginning.”

The Rev. Bogdan Milosz, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Apostles Catholic Church is also against the ordinance.

In a joint written statement, the priests said, “the proposed ordinance does not provide new protection for anyone in Hamtramck, except that it gives new rights that would protect homosexual and lesbian behavior, expression and attire.”

Supporters have said the ordinance simply ensures all residents are protected under the law and demonstrates compassionate governance.

It states that in the “City of Hamtramck that no person be denied the equal protection of the laws; nor shall any person be denied the enjoyment of his or her civil or political rights or be discriminated against because of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, height, weight, condition of pregancy, marital status, physical or mental limitation, source of income, family responsibilities or status, educational association, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or handicap.”

Simply stated, it is not lawful in Hamtramck to discriminate against any person because they’re gay, or because  you think they might be.

The Hamtramck City Council passed the ordinance in June, but opponents gathered enough signatures to place it on the November 4th ballot in hopes of repealing it.

The ordinance prohibits discrimination in housing, employment and city contracting by several groups, but its inclusion of gays and transgendered people stirred up a hornet’s nest of controversy in several of the Polish parishes.

“We feel that this proposal goes against the rights of straight people,” the Rev. Andrew Wesley, pastor of St. Ladislaus Catholic Church stated.

Wesley has written about the issue in the parish bulletin, and spoke with members after Mass. “Nobody’s under any obligation to vote one way or another.”

A group Fr. Wesley co-founded – Hamtramck Citizens Voting No to “Special Rights” Discrimination –  will host a rally on October 12 at the Knights of Columbus Hall.