Lansing Council to consider LGBTQ+ 'welcoming city' resolution

MONDAY, OCT. 13 — Lansing City Councilmembers will discuss a resolution tonight “declaring the city of Lansing as an LGBTQ+ welcoming city."

The resolution comes in response to recent threats and vandalism against LGBTQ+ people and the businesses that support them and “harmful rhetoric at the state and federal levels that emboldens bigotry, intimidation, and vandalism.” 

Councilmembers will discuss the resolution at their Committee of the Whole meeting, which begins at 5 p.m. in the Council's chambers. The resolution is on the agenda for tonight's City Council meeting, which begins at 7, also in the chambers. The public will have an opportunity to comment before the vote.

The proposed resolution asks the city to “develop and implement pro-LGBTQ+ support policies,”  “appoint LGBTQ+ community members to City boards and commissions or establish an LGBTQ+ advisory board” and issue an executive order protecting access to gender-affirming care, including “prohibiting use of City resources to block, investigate, prosecute, or detain any person seeking or providing gender-affirming treatment.”

It also states that “any threats, harassment, discrimination, or acts of intimidation by City employees or by organizations receiving City funds will not be tolerated, and appropriate disciplinary or corrective action will be taken.” It asks the city to ensure business assistance programs are “inclusive of and accessible to LBGTQ+-affirming businesses.”

The resolution follows an open forum Wednesday  that the Council’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee organized on solutions to increasing anti-trans rhetoric in the city. Several of the 30 who spoke at that forum were members and supporters of the newly formed Lansing Advocates for Trans Safety, which made three requests: a statement affirming a commitment to LGBTQ+ safety, the formation of a city LGBTQ+ advisory board and funding for local queer-owned businesses. The resolution would meet the first and encourage the others.

The demands follow a Sept. 24 incident at the Avenue Cafe, an LGBTQ-friendly bar on the east side. A self-proclaimed “fascist” made direct threats against two transgender patrons, according to multiple firsthand sources. The threats have been a flashpoint for local transgender rights activists, but they also coincide with a nationwide assault by the federal government on transgender rights after the assassination of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.

At last week’s forum, state Rep. Emily Dievendorf, D-Lansing, asked the Council to take a stand on this issue because “the state and federal government will not do this, they’re not going to take this seriously.”

The resolution acknowledges that.

“In the face of inadequate state and federal protections, we must take proactive steps to safeguard our most vulnerable residents,” it reads.

The council will deliberate on the resolution during tonight’s Committee of the Whole meeting at 5:00 p.m. and decide on it at the City Council meeting at 7:00 p.m.