news Detroit-area city bans Pride flags on public property

[Horizon Flame]

A city near Detroit has banned its residents from displaying LGBTQ flags on public property after a raucous city meeting Tuesday. 

 

Hamtramck, Mich., an enclave within north-central Detroit, banned the flags in a unanimous vote with one city council member arguing that the displays are unnecessary.

 

“You guys are welcome,” council member Nayeem Choudhury said, referring to the LGBTQ community and its supporters. “(But) why do you have to have the flag shown on government property to be represented?”

 

“You’re already represented,” he added. “We already know who you are.”

 

The city’s five council members and mayor are all Muslim, as are about half of the city’s residents, according to the Detroit Free Press. The latest census also showed that around 40 percent of the city’s residents are immigrants.

“We want to respect the religious rights of our citizens,” Choudhury said.

 

The city, as a result of the vote, will only allow flags of the nations that represent the city’s immigrant heritage and the flag of Michigan to be flown. The city’s previous mayor flew the Pride flag from City Hall in 2021, causing a controversy in the community and making it a campaign issue for the newly elected Mayor Amer Ghalib.

 

“We serve everybody equally with no discrimination but without favoritism,” Ghalib said.

 

The move has brought the city under fire with critics calling the ban discriminatory, however, the resolution’s author, Councilman Mohammed Hassan, said it represents the views of a majority of the city’s residents. 

 

“Please don’t threaten us … I’m the elected official … I’m working for the people, what the majority of the people like,” Hassan said.

 

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4050016-detroit-area-city-bans-pride-flags-on-public-property/

[Gwendolyn]

This is so bleak I feel ill reading this.

[Power love]

What’s going on here 

[LustSpell]

Quote

The city’s five council members and mayor are all Muslim, as are about half of the city’s residents, according to the Detroit Free Press. The latest census also showed that around 40 percent of the city’s residents are immigrants.

“We want to respect the religious rights of our citizens,” Choudhury said.

Always. Religion.

[Cheers]

“(But) why do you have to have the flag shown on government property to be represented?”

 

Could the same not be said about Muslims?

 

“We serve everybody equally with no discrimination but without favoritism,” Ghalib said.

 

"The city’s five council members and mayor are all Muslim, as are about half of the city’s residents" hmm

[Shelter]

Going on about religion again. So sick of listening to it. 

[Rev8]

33 minutes ago, Horizon Flame said:

The city’s previous mayor flew the Pride flag from City Hall in 2021, causing a controversy in the community and making it a campaign issue for the newly elected Mayor Amer Ghalib.

Lmaooo

 

 

 

33 minutes ago, Horizon Flame said:

“We serve everybody equally with no discrimination but without favoritism,” Ghalib said.

they literally say that

 

33 minutes ago, Horizon Flame said:

“We want to respect the religious rights of our citizens,” Choudhury said.

 

no favoritism my ass

but bigots never do admit to that anyways..

[Trent W]

I honestly think Lgbtq and other left communities need to pressure the government to stop involving religion in political aspects.

 

It’s the root of all the problems in American society
 

Like the bible needs to be banned in schools and public mentions

 

If they want to ban lgbtq content from public spaces we can also ban those horrible laws based on religion

 

It’s the root of all their hate

 

 

[umich]

Hamtramck has always been trash. Nothing new.

[onapearl]

37 minutes ago, Horizon Flame said:

will only allow flags of the nations that represent the city’s immigrant heritage and the flag of Michigan to be flown.

Their argument against pride flags kinda falls apart when you consider this. It makes sense to fly the Michigan flag and the US flag, and even limiting it to that. But if you're allowing flags from foreign countries in order to represent immigrant culture, it doesn’t make sense to not allow pride flags that would be representing gay culture, except to avoid offending religious conservatives. It's a way of actively suppressing gay culture, whereas if white Christians were to ban foreign flags to repress immigrant culture, a lot of these people would be justifiably offended.

[Communion]

https://twitter.com/nwarikoo/status/1668855073437372418

 

This is what people should be doing in the face of such disappointing conservatism - to remain openly, proudly gay. (Notice there's no random, unproductive dog-whistles? )

 

A lesson should be that local politics is far more directly impactive than federal politics to daily lives. Hamtramck is not even a large city and a quick search shows that barely 2,000 votes *in total* were cast in the very city council election that made the council itself uniformally conservative. Republicans have poured millions on the school board and city council level that's just not being reciprocated from liberals.

[ttsmu]

The land of the "free".

[elevate]

I hope to see queers less apathetic in the coming years. I don't think we're responsible for stuff like this (obviously... the OP made it clear where it's coming from), but a LOT of gays (and girls tbh) have gotten comfortable and lazy over the years, and had absolutely no reason to. We all knew this was coming.

 

Complaining on Twitter and such isn't... anything. Actively participating in local communities and organising votes is where it's at. 

[Pikachoo]

36 minutes ago, onapearl said:

Their argument against pride flags kinda falls apart when you consider this. It makes sense to fly the Michigan flag and the US flag, and even limiting it to that. But if you're allowing flags from foreign countries in order to represent immigrant culture, it doesn’t make sense to not allow pride flags that would be representing gay culture, except to avoid offending religious conservatives. It's a way of actively suppressing gay culture, whereas if white Christians were to ban foreign flags to repress immigrant culture, a lot of these people would be justifiably offended.

seriously, wtf? you can put a flag of Albania or wtv muslim country, but the lgbt flag is off limit. f*** off

[satellites.™]

Population: 28,000 (2021)

[Mordecai]

Why are the Republicans who are all about 'freedom of speech' not complaining about this restriction on freedom of speech? 

[NoOneDiesFromLove]

2 hours ago, Horizon Flame said:

“We want to respect the religious rights of our citizens,”

They're not oppressed and have never been, so why should the world care about what religious freaks think? Why are they so triggered by rainbow flags 

[Monster Megamind]

There are 2 solutions to this- 

1) Take in more educated immigrants

2) prevent forming of ghettos. There should not be any mini India or Chinatown in United States. This is not something to me proud of. Everyone should intermingle. That's how prejudice loses... 

[suburbannature]

The dumbass logic in those quotes. Enjoy the legal action

[YellowRibbon]

But someone said some days ago that most Muslims in North America are "progressive"... What are the odds of all 5 council members being conservative if that statement was true?

[Communion]

15 minutes ago, YellowRibbon said:

What are the odds of all 5 council members being conservative if that statement was true?

2 hours ago, Communion said:

and a quick search shows that barely 2,000 votes *in total* were cast in the very city council election that made the council itself uniformally conservative. 

The Congressional representatives voted in from MI-13 and MI-12:

 

 

[Gorjesspazze9]

People get more triggered by a flag on Someone’s else’s property… then actual human rights

 

[ZIVERT]

 

[Bethenny Frankel]

Gretchen is going to come for them

 

[poki]

“We want to respect the religious rights of our citizens,” Choudhury said.

 

https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/