HOLLAND, Mich. — Leaders of the Holland LGBTQ community are asking city leaders for protections under the city's anti-discrimination ordinance.
LGBTQ people do not feel fully accepted in Holland, said Jeffrey Sorensen, director of Out on the Lakeshore, a local LGBTQ resource center located at 451 Columbia Ave.
"They don't feel like they can be themselves for fear of losing their jobs or housing," Sorensen said.
The group plans to ask Holland City Council to amend its anti-discrimination ordinance to include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity. They are also asking council to expand protections beyond housing to include employment.
In 2011, the city council rejected a similar amendment to the ordinance by a 5-4 vote. Sorensen believes the new crop of elected officials will swing the council.
"The Holland community is changing," he said. "The city council and mayor have very different views than what they did about nine years ago...and that's exactly why we're bringing it up now."
Recently-elected Mayor Nathan Bocks expressed support for adding LGBTQ protections to the anti-discrimination ordinance during his campaign. He said, Tuesday, the city council will likely move forward on the issue over the coming year.
"We want to make sure we've got good language that can be used by city staff, that works well and appropriately meets the needs of the community," Bocks said. "If we're not being inclusive and not embracing every member of the community, we as a community are missing out."
Members of Out on the Lakeshore and other activists will speak during public comment at the next city council meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at Holland City Hall.
"If a community like [Holland] can pass an ordinance like this, then it can lead the driving force to show other communities in the state can do this as well," Sorensen said.
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