The city of Hamtramck, Michigan, the first city in America to be led by an all-Muslim city council, is under fire for prohibiting the display of “religious, ethnic, racial, political or sexual orientation group flags” on public property.
Axios reported the vote was unanimous.
Not surprisingly, Hamtramck’s city council has faced criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates since it passed the ordinance last June.
However, criticism ratcheted up a few notches after the Washington Post published a story last weekend that placed the city council in a negative light.
The article included quotes from LGBTQ+ advocates who claimed city council members passed the ordinance to target specific individuals.
“The sole purpose was absolutely to go after the gay pride flag,” said one Hamtramck LGBTQ proponent.
Another told the Post the flag rule “has always been about being anti-queer.”
Mayor Amer Ghalib (D) disagrees. The mayor told Fox News: “The city council decided to stay neutral on such controversial issues. Public spaces and city properties are shared spaces among all residents and should not be used by special interest groups to promote their agenda.”
Ghalib added: “We just specified which flags to be allowed to fly on city properties: U.S. flag, state, city, and POW flags are allowed. Everything else is not.
The mayor also noted that complaints have only come from the LGBTQ community: “No other group complained except the LGBT,” said Ghalib. “[I think that is] because everyone believes it’s fair and just decision. The city treats and serves everyone equally, no discrimination or preferential treatment.”
The Blaze reported that Ghalib defended the city council’s decision. In his recent interview with Fox News, the mayor doubled down and claimed LGBTQ+ advocates are “acting as victims” and are disgruntled because Hamtramck’s leaders are Muslim.
“I, as a mayor, as well as the city council don’t represent all American Muslims,” Ghalib said. “We just act on the best interest of our city and our residents.”
Though the criticism from the LGBTQ community is loud, it does not represent the views of most Americans, as one X, formerly Twitter, user pointed out below:
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