Former Hamtramck officials sue city over Pride flag ban, cite constitutional concerns
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – Is banning the pride flag on city-owned property in Hamtramck unconstitutional? That is the question federal courts will have to answer now that two former officials are suing the city, city council and mayor.
In July, Russ Gordon and Cathy Stackpoole lost their position on the Hamtramck Human Relations Commission after raising a Pride flag on Joseph Campau Avenue.
"Within two and a half hours, it was down. One of the council people saw it, called the mayor, they called the city manager, the city manager called the police in, and the flag was down. I knew that was going to happen. I mean, I didn't have any doubt. But this was a protest that had to happen, that we had to stand up and speak up for these people who we're telling them that they're not worth enough to us to allow them to live in the city, or at least to be represented," Gordon said.
The month before, Hamtramck city leaders passed a law prohibiting any pride, ethnic, and political flags from going up on city property.
"It's clear that this resolution was done to pacify the religious sentiment part of the city. And you're not supposed to pass laws based on that. It's just wrong. There's a separation of church and state. This is the United States of America. That's how we do things," Stackpoole said.
In a lawsuit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for The Eastern District of Michigan, the pair allege the ordinance violates the First Amendment's Freedom of Speech and Establishment Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
"We're not in this lawsuit for money. We're in this lawsuit to overturn the unconstitutional resolution that was passed by council and to put the flags back up. We want all the flags back up, including the pride flag," Gordon said.
In a statement to CBS News Detroit, City Manager Max Garbarino wrote, "We have forwarded the suit over to our City Attorney, and he is reviewing them."
Gordan and Stackpoole are also seeking to return to their former roles on the Hamtramck Human Relations Commission to continue promoting their community's inclusivity.
"Let's talk about love and acceptance and kindness and neighborliness and raise all the flags," Stackpoole said.
Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib issued the following statement to CBS News Detroit:
"This was expected. Another unnecessary distraction by the former power structure that doesn't like to see the city moving forward. Good things are happening for the first time in decades such as budget surplus and infrastructure repair. This exposes the former egregious leadership failure, therefore they want to constantly create obstacles on our way.
The neutrality resolution is legal and constitutional. The city doesn't discriminate, or give any preferential treatment to any group. The taxpayer government buildings or spaces belong to everyone and cannot be used by specific group to promote special interest group's agenda.
The city isn't being selective on which flag it can fly, like it was the case with Shurtleff V. Boston, in which the supreme court ruled against the city's selective enforcement. This is different, the city decided to keep government properties neutral and no group would be allowed to fly any kind of flags other than what's specified in the resolution.
They mentioned on the lawsuit details, that in 2021, the art and culture commission took permission from the city council to fly the flag in front of city hall, but in 2022, after the leadership was changed, one person decided to move on with the decision ignoring the city council and the new Mayor. What was changed for them to change the whole process and not to get that same permission and let the council vote on it like they did in 2021!
The fact that the dysfunctional human relations commission used to do things the wrong way during the former leadership, doesn't mean that they could continue to do it without having a quorum or even a meeting! Not under my leadership.
By just saying, that is the way they used to do it during the former administration, isn't a valid argument. One person cannot undermine the power of the mayor and council.
As commissioners, they broke their oath and they were in defiance of the city's rules and regulations, therefore they should be held accountable for Two things: first, taking decisions without having meetings or quorum for the human relations commission. Second, for putting the flag up on city flag pole after disallowing that passing resolution 82 by the city council."
