Why I Will Not Open a Business Venture in Kalamazoo

From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

KALAMAZOO — Kalamazoo city voters decisively adopted an ordinance Tuesday that extends anti-discrimination protections to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals.

The ordinance passed 7,671 to 4,731, making Kalamazoo the 16th city in Michigan to adopt such a gay-rights ordinance that grants the protections in the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations.

As a Christian, I cannot give my approval in any way to that which God labels as sin. The ordinance that passed last evening would make it illegal for me to do any of several things, including:

• Not hiring a homosexual for a job involving contact with children
• Keeping a cross-dressing man from using the ladies' restroom in my business
• Renting a home or apartment to a pair of homosexuals

My conscience and my common sense would require me to do what the ordinance does not allow. Although I have no business, rental property, or any such thing in Kalamazoo—and never have—I have decided that I never will...unless this ordinance is removed.

Why You Should Vote "NO" on Kalamazoo's Ordinance 1856

Next week Kalamazoo city voters will have an opportunity to vote on Ordinance 1856, which essentially grants special rights to homosexuals, crossdressers, and others who are not heterosexual. Much has been written on the topic (some great stuff is here) already, so I will not strive to duplicate those efforts.

There are several good, strong reasons to vote NO on this ordinance. It essentially grants special rights to one group while discriminating against another. It is bad for businesses. It will cause social problems when, for example, men are using women's restrooms.

But the biggest reason to vote NO on the ordinance is this: It brings legitimacy to sin. The Bible teaches that all sexual activity outside of marriage (which, by biblical definition, is heterosexual) is sin. Homosexuality and other deviant forms of sexual behavior are condemned in some of the strongest language found in the Bible.

To grant special civil rights to those who are engaging in sin, and to simultaneously discriminate against those who are desiring to set an example of what is morally right, is cancerous to the body politic. For this reason alone I would recommend that you vote NO on Ordinance 1856.

But if you want a lot more good reasons to vote NO, check here.

Enjoying the Global Warming??

According to the Kalamazoo Gazette's online version, July 2009 will be the coldest July on record...and those records go back to 1887. The record for average temperature could be shattered by about 1.4 degrees!

And, this temperature chill is expected to continue for at least the first several days of August.

Several large local facilities reported substantially lower expenses on electricity, compared to last year, due to the lower temperatures. Air conditioner technicians, however, are lamenting the cool trend, so we have yet another example of changes in the "business environment" benefiting some and not benefiting others.

It's bad enough when politicians try to pick winners and losers in the economy in the areas they can control (taxes, contracts, etc.), but think about this: By trying to lower the global temperature (Note: This is their claim, not a fact), they essentially favor some over others!

Let the free market freely control!

Kalamazoo Discrimination Ordinance Passes 7-0

As expected, the Kalamazoo City Commission voted unanimously this evening to force residents and businesses in the city to grant special "protections" to those describing themselves as part of the "GLBT community."

I believe that to discriminate on the basis of skin color, age, or gender is inappropriate. These are factors that are beyond a person's ability to control. As a Christian, I am to show love to all—and that is certainly a non-discriminatory statement.

What I object to is being pushed to acknowledge a lifestyle choice which I find sinful and repugnant. God made man and woman, established monogamous marriage, and gave mankind clear commands about physical intimacy. Homosexuality is against God's commands. It is sin.

So now what? Stay tuned for the petition drive, and if you live in the Kalamazoo area and/or know voters in the city of Kalamazoo, get to work! Details to come....

Kalamazoo Discrimination Ordinance to be Voted On Tonight!

The title above is my own, as the ordinance will discriminate against those who live or operate a business in the city of Kalamazoo by forcing them to accept homosexuals (or anyone in the "GLBT" group) in housing, employment, and "access to public accommodations."

According to the Kalamazoo Gazette and widely reported elsewhere, the ordinance is likely to pass, and in fact could be unanimously passed. A similar ordinance passed the City Commission unanimously in December, but was then rescinded in January after an unprecedented number of signatures were turned in for a ballot referendum on the matter. Some minor changes have since been made granting more "protections" to religious groups. Fines for violating the ordinance will be $500 a day plus expenses.

The American Family Association intends to begin circulating petitions Tuesday morning if the measure passes the commission, as most expect it will. Given the fact that no commission members have given any indication of a change of heart on the matter, we need to prepare for this. The previous petition drive was only granted 20 days to collect over a thousand signatures (over the Christmas holiday season, no less), and was successful by a comfortable margin. If you are a registered voter of Michigan and know registered voters in Kalamazoo, you can help in the petition drive. Pay attention to the AFA website and stayed tuned for further developments.

The homosexual movement wants to win as many of these local battles as they can before the inevitable day when their agenda will be placed before Congress. Do your part to promote what is right and godly in your area!

Not-So-Bright Criminal of the Day

In the previous post, I alluded to (see comments) the fact that sin can often cause one "to lose all sense of equilibrium when it comes to issues of right and wrong." Apparently that happened here, but in a different way.

According to the Kalamazoo Gazette, a 27-year-old man...

"...walked into the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety substation on North Park Street at about 4 a.m., bleeding from cuts on his arms and hands and apparently drunk, and told officers he had seen someone breaking into a building in the 600 block of North Rose Street, according to a news release.

"The release said the Kalamazoo resident told police he wanted to stop the crime, so he climbed into the building and scuffled with the other person but lost his grip."

Upon further review of the crime scene, the police determined that the criminal was in fact this man, who after being stitched up at a local hospital, was arrested and jailed for breaking and entering.

And to show that Kalamazoo Public Safety does have at least a little sense of humor, their news release contained this sentence:

"Kalamazoo Public Safety cannot always count on suspects to report their own criminal activity."

Funding For The Arts: Done The Right Way!

In today's Kalamazoo Gazette, I read an encouraging article that began this way:

KALAMAZOO -- As dwindling arts funds are further cut, some organizations are coming up with creative ways to raise money without the help of a government bailout.

One such organization is the nonprofit SmartShop Metal Arts Center, at 516 E. North St., where the "Forge the Future Fundraiser 2009" will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday to raise funds to support day-to-day operations and staffing at the arts center, as well as scholarship costs for those in the community who can't afford to take a class or workshop there.

The fundraiser "goes to the things that we are having and have had a hard time getting funding for," said Holly Fisher, founding executive director and instructor at the SmartShop.

It was interesting that nowhere in the article did I read any bellyaching about how the state/county/city/federal government was cutting their funding, or that it was somehow government's responsibility to step up and pour money into their accounts. They simply are planning what many private schools, organizations, and non-profits do when they feel a need for additional funds: They plan a fundraiser that they believe will be entertaining for their constituency and profitable for themselves. Good for them!

I also found it encouraging that this organization has an educational component:

Vincent Faust, president of the SmartShop's board of directors, said the SmartShop is worth supporting because it offers the community skills-based instruction in the metal arts both from an arts perspective and a practical, job-based perspective through its classes and workshops in welding and forging. He said the center offers special programs for those in the community who are in need.

No matter how high-tech our world gets, there will always be some degree of need for those who weld, forge, and work with large-scale metal projects. I commend them for filling a niche—without my taxpaying dollars—and wish them success in the future.