Issues@Hand
AFA initiatives, Christian activism, news briefs
April 2000 – Two votes in Michigan on February 22 high- 14 lighted two key fronts in the culture war, as AFA and local citizens took on special rights for homosexuals and filters for library computers.
In Ferndale, Michigan, voters addressed a human rights ordinance which would have added “sexual orientation” to the list of groups protected from discrimination. The measure was narrowly defeated 51% to 49%.
Although such ordinances are cropping up across the nation, Christians in Ferndale were especially incensed by the lack of an exemption for churches and Christian daycares.
The national AFA office contributed substantial resources to Oakland County Residents For Equal Rights Not Special Rights, a local group that was opposing the measure, That group was working with AFA of Michigan President Gary Glenn.
“Quite literally, under this law, a church could be fined for refusing to hire a homosexual pastor, music director or children’s church teacher,” said Glenn. “It would have discriminated against Christians by repressing their First Amendment religious liberties.”
Ferndale City Councilman Craig Covey, an open homosexual, stirred controversy after the vote by demonizing Christians who opposed the measure. Covey said, “This vote shows that the Christian Right is down but not out yet. We might have to drive another dagger into that vampire.”
Glenn pointed out the hypocrisy of homosexual activists like Covey, who constantly berate Christians for their supposed “hate speech” when preaching about the sin of homosexuality. “To help protect Ferndale citizens from potential violence, we encourage the [pro-homosexual group] Triangle Foundation to add the word ‘vampire’ to its recently unveiled poster discouraging hate speech such as that by Councilman Covey,” said Glenn tongue-in-cheek.
Meanwhile, in Holland, Michigan, a vote on whether or not to install Internet filters on computers at the Herrick District Library was defeated 55% to 45%. The ballot initiative became necessary after efforts to approach city council members about filtering were ignored. Although communities across the nation are debating library filtering, Holland was the first city to put library filtering on the ballot.
The Holland campaign was initiated by the Holland Area Family Association (HAFA), a local AFA affiliate. Once on the ballot, HAFA Vice-president Irv Bos worked with Glenn and other local citizens in favor of the filtering ordinance.
AFA is one of the leading organizations fighting to make libraries safe for children, but resistance from the American Library Association (ALA) has been feverish.
The ALA is a radical private organization that has tremendous influence over public libraries across the country. The official policy of the group is that libraries should never limit children’s access to any material – even pornography. Since the Internet contains thousands of explicitly pornographic websites, the ALA policy allowing children to roam cyberspace freely has become a concern for many parents.
“The ALA wants absolute control over this issue,” said AFA National Field Director David Miller. “The group was terrified over the Holland vote, because it just couldn’t stand to have such a decision placed into the hands of the voters.”
Miller said the loss was disappointing but held out hope for future efforts, since voters may not have been rejecting the concept of computer filtering. Even opponents of the ordinance told the Associated Press they believed most people who had voted “No” actually supported library Internet filters but had technical concerns.
“The opposition really twisted this issue to their advantage,” Miller said. “The library director had said publicly that he would shut down the library altogether if the filtering measure passed, and the mayor claimed the city’s credit rating would be damaged. We think that made voters very nervous.”
The Holland measure was also unique in some respects, and Miller said opponents of library filtering should not put too much stock in the outcome. “Because the Herrick District Library served three other cities besides Holland, opponents of the ballot initiative argued that it was unfair for only one city to vote on filtering,” he said. “I think that confused voters, and in other cities where a library only serves one community, I think the outcome will be very different.”
Miller said, “Holland was a great place to get our feet wet on this issue, and we learned some valuable lessons. The ALA’s narrow win in Michigan has bought them some time, but their days of being in control of local libraries are numbered.”
In fact, Glenn said AFA “may have lost the battle in Holland only to win the war in Lansing,” the state capital.
“The heat generated by this debate in Holland has led the Michigan legislature to act on the issue of Internet filters,” he said.
The state Senate unanimously passed a bill mandating that libraries block minors’ Internet access to pornographic material. The house is expected to follow suit.
The need for filters will not go away. The same day that Holland voters rejected the filtering ordinance, the Oakland, Michigan, press reported that police were called to the Baldwin Public Library in Birmingham, Michigan, to detain a man caught viewing child pornography on a library Internet terminal.
“These unfiltered library computers will act as bait for those who hunger for perverse images,” said Miller. “That means pedophiles and porn addicts will be visiting the local library."
Miller predicted that people will demand filters as more cases like the one in Birmingham make the
local news. 
