by the Hamtramck review<\/span><\/a> in 2008, saying \u201cThis is something we don\u2019t feel is necessary\u2026 It does go against the family and the natural tendency of the family.\u201d<\/p>\nIn Rahman\u2019s statement, he writes that while he didn\u2019t support the 2008 ordinance for many reasons, he has since tried to work toward understanding the issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring that time and since, I have worked to educate myself and others about all civil rights issues and will continue this behavior in the future,\u201d Rahman writes. \u201cI will continue to support ANY action that affirms the dignity of and welcomes ANY and ALL residents to Hamtramck.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a \u201cStatement of Unity,\u201d five candidates signed an agreement to reaffirm diversity and inclusivity in Hamtramck, calling for \u201cunifying against hate in the community, and embrac[ing] marginalized communities faced with prejudice in order to increase compassion and understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam Albarmaki, Amanda Jaczkowski, Cody Lown, Lynn Blasey and Muhith Mahmood are shown to have signed the statement of unity. Khalil Refai, Armani Asad, and Abu Musa did not sign the statement of unity.<\/p>\n
While the majority of mayoral candidates have expressed some form of support for the LGBT community, the root of the debate comes from the question of whether a pride flag should fly near Hamtramck City Hall. Last week, a resolution was introduced questioning whether an LGBT pride flag should be displayed in Zussman Park, in front of City Hall.<\/p>\n
Mayoral Candidates Saad Almasmari and Amer Ghalib both said they disapprove of the Pride Flag flying in Zussman Park.<\/p>\n
Calling back to the 2008 Human Rights Ordinance, Ghalib disapproved, saying that this would only create tensions in the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is just going to create constant conflict among people, and it\u2019s going to waste a lot of our time and effort and energy on these unnecessary things,\u201d Ghalib said.<\/p>\n
Almasmari expressed his support of the LGBT community, but says he voted against the resolution because the Pride Flag would be displayed on government property.<\/p>\n
The tie-breaking vote on the Pride Flag ordinance by Mayor Karen Majewski approved the flag going in Zussman Park for the month of June. A Pride Month celebration, organized by the Hamtramck Arts and Culture Commission, will be held this Saturday in Zussman Park.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a community whose residents reflect a diverse range of ethnic, religious, cultural and experiential backgrounds, honoring the experience of Queer people in Hamtramck is a natural extension of the city\u2019s ongoing work to make Hamtramck a more opening, welcoming and equitable environment for all,\u201d reads a statement by the Arts and Culture Commission.<\/p>\n
<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Simon Albaugh \u2013 Yemeni American News HAMTRAMCK, Mich. \u2013 Last week, Hamtramck City Council narrowly voted to raise the LGBT pride flag in Zussman Park, sparking debate around the city\u2019s role in celebrating the lives of LGBT folks. In the days since, candidates have released statements calling for unity, respect of civil and human […]","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5182"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5207,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5182\/revisions\/5207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}