GRAND RAPIDS PRESS — How conservative Holland became latest battleground for gay rights

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“Traditional institutions in (Holland) are pushing back, with some warning of a slippery slope to moral relativism. ‘I think it (the proposed anti-discrimination ordinance) will lead to other things,’ said the Rev. Ralph Houston of Immanuel Reformed Church In Fennville. ‘It adds some respectability to (homosexual behavior.)’

In Houston’s view, the best authority on the issue can be found in the Bible, in verses in Leviticus and Romans that condemn homosexuality. ‘If the Bible is true, then we better stick to what the Bible says about homosexuality,’ Houston said. Nonetheless, Houston asserted that Holland needs no gay rights ordinance because he sees no evidence of discrimination.”

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GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
Grand Rapids, Michigan
October 20, 2010

How conservative Holland became
latest battleground for gay rights
by Ted Roelofs | The Grand Rapids Press

HOLLAND — Given its conservative reputation, Holland might seem unlikely ground to launch a battle for gay rights.

A group called Holland is Ready insists this bastion of traditional values is precisely the community where such a fight must be won.
“If that is the perception of a place, it’s perhaps even more important we do this,” said the Rev. Jennifer Adams, rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Holland.

“I believe Holland is far more diverse than communities beyond Holland have recognized.”
There are many others, some well known, invested in this cause as well. They include Jeff Padnos, president of Louis Padnos Iron & Metal in Holland. Padnos believes the time has come for this city to assure equal treatment of all.

“As we try to grow and diversity our economy, this is going to be a factor that people are looking at in terms of where they choose to be. It’s symbolic of what kind of place we want to be.
“Do we want to be inclusive or understanding or not?”

The issue bubbled to the surface across several fronts in the past year, from a proposal that Holland’s City Council adopt a gay anti-discrimination measure to a clash at Hope College over a campus appearance by Dustin Lance Black, screenwriter of an Oscar-winning movie about gay activist Harvey Milk.
The former could come to ahead this week as a city panel is expected to discuss the proposal to protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

In July, a full-page ad in the Holland Sentinel further stirred the pot as it attacked the proposed city ordinance and what it termed the “myths” of homosexuality. The ad said it was sponsored by the Holland Township company Request Foods and the Family Research Council.
After threats of a boycott by Campbell Soup Co. — for whom Request Foods is a contractor — Request Foods distanced itself from the ad saying it was paid for by an investor “without our management team’s knowledge or permission.”

Dozens of letters to the editor and online comments at the Holland Sentinel, some civil, others not, reveal a community divided. Many were critical of the ad.
One online writer commented: “Ignorance is a sad thing. Ignorance based on faith is dangerous.”
But another warned that the annual Tulip Time parade could be one with “a Gay Rights float, but no Right to Life float. Perfect.”
While the issue simmers, 2010 Hope College graduate Emily West said it might surprise some just how many students at this college with historic ties to the Reformed Church are ready for change.

The former editor-in-chief of the student newspaper recalled a meeting she and some others called in 2009 after college officials blocked an appearance by screenwriter Black to discuss issues raised by the film “Milk.”
“Over a hundred people showed up for the meeting,” said West, 22. “I was shocked.”

In denying Black’s appearance, college officials cited a 1995 policy which says the college will “not provide recognition, financial or logistical support for groups whose purposes include the advocacy or moral legitimization of homosexual behavior.”
Officials said Black could speak to students about his craft but not gay rights.

That led to formation of the group called Hope is Ready, which West said submitted the names of 745 people, including 342 students demanding repeal of the policy. Not long after, gay rights proponents formed Holland is Ready as the cause mushroomed into a community-wide issue.
West said organizers have continued to collect the signatures of more students and Hope graduates since then.
Alumni lending support to the cause include Arend Lubbers, former president of Grand Valley State University. Lubbers is a 1953 Hope graduate and son of Irwin Lubbers, Hope’s president from 1945 to 1963.

“There should be complete inclusiveness at Hope College,” Lubbers said.
Not unexpectedly, traditional institutions in the area are pushing back, with some warning of a slippery slope to moral relativism.
“I think it (the proposed anti-discrimination ordinance) will lead to other things,” said the Rev. Ralph Houston of Immanuel Reformed Church In Fennville.

“It adds some respectability to (homosexual behavior.)”
In Houston’s view, the best authority on the issue can be found in the Bible, in verses in Leviticus and Romans that condemn homosexuality.

“If the Bible is true, then we better stick to what the Bible says about homosexuality,” Houston said.
Nonetheless, Houston asserted that Holland needs no gay rights ordinance because he sees no evidence of discrimination.

“I don’t think anyone in Holland would dare discriminate on the basis of homosexuality,” he said.
That is among the issues put to Holland’s Human Relations Commission as it weighs a proposal to protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. City council members in July directed the advisory body to study the issue and return with a recommendation.

The commission is expected to discuss the matter at its Thursday meeting.
“I imagine there will be some kind of action,” said commission chairman Ralph Kickert.

Kickert declined to predict what that might be, or whether the City Council would adopt a gay rights ordinance if the commission recommends it.
Many expect the issue to be settled by referendum.

In 2009, voters in Kalamazoo rejected a referendum that would have repealed the city’s gay protection ordinance by 62 percent to 38 percent. Several other Michigan cities, including Grand Rapids, Grand Ledge, Lansing, East Lansing, Detroit and Ann Arbor have measures protecting gay residents.
Padnos President Jeff Padnos believes that in five or 10 years Holland will have resolved the issue and moved on.

“I think it’s going to be behind us. Holland is a way more diverse place than people think.
“It’s just a matter of time.”
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/10/how_conservative_holland_becam.html
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