MUSKEGON, Mich. — At the first meeting of the Muskegon County Board of Commissioners since commissioner Zach Lahring directed homophobic language at board chair Bob Scolnik, discussion between the board got heated.
"If I'm not pushing the envelope a little bit, you should actually be standing up and defending my First Amendment right, not trying to censure me," said Lahring.
At the meeting, commissioner Marcia Hovey-Wright introduced a resolution to censure Lahring for his posts, including calling Scolnik a "little queer".
"Censure is a public reprimand, indicating the board's disapproval with some action," explained Michael Homier, corporate counsel to the board.
A censure would not prohibit Lahring from speaking publicly, however he says it's an infringement on his right to free speech. Commissioner Malinda Pego supported him, saying Scolnik was hypocritical to call Lahring a fool on social media in retaliation.
Lahring called the censure hypocritical as well, claiming he's been offended by the actions of other board members.
"You're going to show Black Lives Matter, which I find a deeply offensive organization, and you can show that on your county iPad but you're going to care what I do in my personal time on my personal Facebook page?" said Lahring.
Outside of the building, supporters of Scolnik gathered to call for Lahring's removal from office.
"There's no time and no space left for people like him," says Bri Mac, a Muskegon resident. "He's in a position of power, he should not have that position of power."
Inside, people showed support for both sides of the argument.
"This is free speech. What you do on your own time is your own business," commented one resident.
"I was in Las Vegas last week and I heard about this on the news in Las Vegas. If you think it's not an embarrassment to the city of Muskegon of what's going on here, you're definitely wrong," said another resident.
The board voted 5 to 4 to send the resolution to a human resources committee for review. After that, it will return to the commissioners for a final vote.
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