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Michigan city commissioners removed after flying Pride flag in violation of ordinance: Defied 'rule of law'
By Joshua Nelson
Published July 13, 2023
Two Hamtramck, Michigan, commissioners were fired from their positions after they flew a Pride flag on city property.
The Hamtramck City Council on Tuesday voted to remove Russ Gordon and Cathy Stackpoole from the Hamtramck Human Relations Commission.
The Council sent Fox News Digital a statement saying that the commissioners had defied the "rule of law."
"This Council believes in fairness, neutrality towards our residents, and the rule of law, amongst other things for this community. We passed a resolution recently to do just that, and two of our sworn commissioners outright defied it, and did what they wanted," Council member Khalil Refai said in the statement.
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The Hamtramck City Council on Tuesday voted to remove Russ Gordon and Cathy Stackpoole from the Hamtramck Human Relations Commission for flying the Pride flag. (Photo by Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News via Getty Images)
Refai went on to say, "We were elected by the people of the community to make these decisions, and they not only violated the resolution but the trust of the whole community by doing this. For this reason, Council felt the appropriate response was to remove them from their public positions of trust."
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This move came after the Council voted to remove the commission's authority to fly flags on city property on June 13.
The Council voted to ban Pride flags, among others, due to opposition from religious groups who disagree with the ideology represented by the symbol.
"We want to respect the religious rights of our citizens," Council member Nayeem Choudhury said at the time, according to Fox 2 Detroit.
The Hamtramck, Michigan city council agreed to ban Pride flags on public property, Tuesday, June 13, 2023. (Fox 2 Detroit)
"We are confirming the neutrality of the City of Hamtramck we decided to stay neutral," said Mayor Amer Ghalib to FOX 2 earlier. "Flags that pertain to any religious, racial, ethnic or sexual-oriented group (would not be allowed). Exceptions are the American flag, state and city flags, POW MIA."
The entirety of the Hamtramck City Council is Muslim, and approximately 40% of residents were born in foreign countries.
The June meeting took a strange turn when a woman in a clown nose took the podium to mock the Pride flag debate.
"Sure, many Hamtramck residents have fled countries where being gay is a death sentence, but nothing says we have to make it 'comforting' and 'welcoming' here," the woman said in a sarcastic speech.
A woman speaking to the City Council of Hamtramck wears a clown nose during a sarcastic speech mocking the Pride flag ban on public property. (City Council of Hamtramck)
The council's decision not to allow the Pride flag on public property does not affect private businesses or residences.
The motion allows for the flying of five different flags on public property: the U.S. flag, the Michigan flag, the Hamtramck flag, the Prisoner of War flag and a unique flag representing the nations from which many Hamtramck citizens hail from.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/michigan-city-commissioners-removed-flying-pride-flag-violation-ordinance-defied-rule-law