Michigan Lawmakers Refuse to Sign Award for Lesbian

Jase Bolger, Sarah Stangl

A lesbian who was supposed to get one of the Kalamazoo YWCA's annual "Women of Achievement" awards got slighted Thursday, and now LGBT rights leaders want to know what happened.

Sarah Stangl was one of several honorees given state proclamations as part of their award. Each certificate was signed by a cast of Michigan lawmakers. But some refused to sign the proclamation for Stangl, who was being honored in part for her work as the former coordinator for LGBT Student Services at Western Michigan University.

Refusing to sign were House Speaker Jase Bolger, state Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker, State Rep. Margaret O’Brien. All are Republicans, but so is Gov. Rick Snyder, who signed the proclamation.

"If this is some sort of statement, I think it's petty," Zachary Bauer, executive director for the Kalamazoo Gay Lesbian Resource Center, told the Kalamazoo Gazette.

None of the lawmakers involved have explained themselves.