Politics & Government

Farmington Hills May Be Next In Line With LGBT Protections in Human Rights Code

One councilman said he supports on ordinance protecting LGBT citizens form discrimination, but questions whether HIV status should be along them.

Farmington Hills city officials are expected to vote later this summer on a human rights ordinance that includes protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Several neighboring cities have adopted or are considering local ordinances that protect LGBT – lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered – citizens, and city officials think a ordinance is appropriate in Farmington Hills, The Oakland County Press reports. Among the city’s neighbors with anti-discrimination human rights ordinances are Ferndale, Royal Oak and Canton, which voted last month to add to LGBT protections.

Ferndale’s anti-discrimination code was approved almost a decade ago, in 2006.

Find out what's happening in Farmington-Farmington Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Farmington Hills City Attorney Steve Joppich is drafting a sample ordinance that will be considered by the City Council later this summer. The idea was presented at a June 23 public hearing, but no one showed up to oppose it, Mayor Pro-Tem Randy Bruce told The Oakland Press.

He said he supports “some type of ordinance.”

Find out what's happening in Farmington-Farmington Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Tell Us:
  • Do you think Farmington Hills should adopt a human rights ordinance that protects LGBT citizens against discrimination? Would you like to see specific language protecting citizens based on their HIV status?

Councilman Ken Massey said he does, too, but wants to make sure the city appropriately deals with such issues with the sensitive issue of disease and enforcement of the ordinance.

Some communities have included HIV status protections in their ordinances, “but calling out a specific disease is something I don’t like,” Massey told The Oakland Press.

If the human rights ordinance is passed, Farmington Hills would join 36 communities with LGBT protections in place, according to the Unity Michigan Coalition. Sterling Heights is the latest community  to pass a human rights ordinance that protects all people against discrimination.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Farmington-Farmington Hills