Uphill Battle Predicted for Family Advocates in Ferndale
by Allie Martin
September 25, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Pro-family activists in one Michigan city are gearing up for what promises to be a tough fight as voters will decide the fate of a homosexual-rights ordinance this November.
Advocates of homosexual rights are mounting a massive public relations blitz to get the ordinance passed in Ferndale. The ordinance would add "sexual orientation" to a list of categories such as race and gender that cannot be used to discriminate in the areas of employment, housing, and public accommodation.
Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, is actively opposing the ordinance. He contends the policy is discriminatory -- and he explains his reasoning.
"Earlier this spring, the State of Massachusetts -- with its so-called 'sexual orientation law' -- told Catholic Charities that it was compelled by state law to process homosexual adoptions," says Glenn. "It was the result of this exact same type of so-called 'sexual orientation ordinance' that's now being proposed for the city of Ferndale, Michigan."
The family advocate acknowledges it will be tough battle to defeat the proposal. "This is the community that is the host of the Metro Detroit Pride Fest every June, where some fifteen- to twenty-thousand individuals involved in the homosexual lifestyle have a street festival in Ferndale," explains Glenn.
But even though the prospects for defeating the ordinance may be dim, Glenn promises to forge ahead. "[W]e're called to stand," he says, "not necessarily to win every time. But win, lose, or draw, we're called to stand for what's right; and that's to say that marriage should remain between a man and a woman as God ordained it."
The AFA of Michigan leader maintains the proposed ordinance is a way to target religious groups that have a moral objection to homosexuality. A similar measure was rejected by voters in 1999.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
