Detroit neighborhood allowed to ban LGBT flags after legal battle with all-Muslim city council
A federal judge ruled that Hamtramck, Michigan, a predominantly Muslim city with an all-Muslim city council, can legally ban teh display of LGBT flags on public property. In June 2023, the Hamtramck city council passed a resolution prohibiting the flying of any religious, ethnic, racial, political, or sexual orientation group flags on public grounds, allowing only secular flags related to governments. Two former city officials who raised a gay pride flag were removed from their posts and later sued the city, claiming the resolution violated their free speech rights and the Fourteenth Amendment. However, U.S. District judge David M. Lawson dismissed the lawsuit, stating the resolution was neutral and did not endorse any religion or discriminate against specific groups. The ruling affirmed that Hamtramck’s refusal to display the LGBT pride flag does not violate the Constitution. The city is notable for its large immigrant population and the political prominence of its mayor, Amer Ghalib, who endorsed donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election and was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait.
Detroit neighborhood allowed to ban LGBT flags after legal battle with all-Muslim city council
Hamtramck, Michigan, can legally prohibit the display of the LGBT flag, a federal judge ruled Monday.
The city council of Hamtramck, an enclave within Detroit, passed a resolution in June 2023 that banned any “religious, ethnic, racial, political, or sexual orientation group flags” from being flown on public property.
Two former city officials subsequently raised a gay pride flag on public property and then were removed from their positions for doing so. In November 2023, the two city officials, Russ Gordon and Cathy Stackpoole, filed a lawsuit against the city, the city council, and Mayor Amer Ghalib, alleging that the passing of the resolution violated their free speech rights and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan David M. Lawson dismissed the case on Monday. He ruled that the resolution did not violate free speech because it only permitted secular flags related to local, state, national, or international governments and “did not endorse the flying of any banner representing any religious sect or creed.”
Hamtramck is the only Muslim-majority city in the United States and is represented by an all-Muslim city council. The city made headlines during the 2024 election when its Democratic Mayor Ghalib endorsed President Donald Trump in his run for a second term. Trump visited the town in October 2024, standing with Ghalib to thank him for the endorsement and promising peace in the Middle East under his administration if elected.
Ghalib, who is currently in Washington, D.C., attempting to get more funding for Hamtramck, was appointed by Trump this year to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait. Ghalib is not running for mayoral reelection, as two other candidates are set to face off in the November general election.
Hamtramck has the largest immigrant population per capita of any other town or city in Michigan, according to the Detroit Free Press. Over 40% of the city’s residents were not born in the U.S., and over 70% are Muslim.
The city council passed the 2023 resolution on flags with the title “Resolution to Maintain and Confirm the Neutrality of the City of Hamtramck Towards its Residents.” Judge Lawson said the plaintiffs’ arguments to probe the council members’ “comments about religion and sexual orientation” in relation to the 14th Amendment did not hold up.
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Lawson said the plaintiffs did not identify any signs of the council’s resolution “betraying any discernible motive to advance the interests of one particular religion over another, or to elevate religious over secular views.”
“Hamtramck’s refusal to display the Gay Pride flag did not violate the Constitution,” Lawson said in the ruling.
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