SAUGATUCK, MI (WHTC) - The Saugatuck City Council is objecting to the proposed Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the measure that passed the state House earlier this month that would allow people or businesses to seek exemptions from government rules based on religious grounds.
The council last night unanimously passed a resolution opposing the RFRA, saying it would give people an opportunity to legally discriminate against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people. Saugatuck’s action comes one week after the Douglas City Council passed a similar resolution. Mayor Bill Hess called the bill, which is expected to be reintroduced early next year, “unnecessary” and that it would usurp local laws that provide legal protection for LGBT people.
The RFRA, which was meant to counterbalance the proposed expansion of anti-discrimination legislation to include homosexuals and transgenders, is expected to be reintroduced with that legislation when the new House and Senate is seated in Lansing next month.
-Greg Chandler contributed to this report