Conservatives ask Dearborn to pass flag law similar to Hamtramck

Some conservatives are trying to convince Dearborn to pass a new flag law similar to what Hamtramck enacted last month that would ban all LGBTQ+, religious and political flags.

At a city council meeting earlier this week, some residents asked the Dearborn City Council to consider a resolution recommended by Hassan Aoun, a conservative activist in Dearborn, that reads in part: "Dearborn shall only allow the American flag, Prisoner of War flag, the state of Michigan flag and the city of Dearborn flag to be flown or place on the city of Dearborn properties including buildings, grounds, and assets." Echoing the new Hamtramck law, the proposal says Dearborn should be neutral toward its residents and not favor any particular group.

But after a heated discussion at the Tuesday night meeting, their attempts didn't go far for now. No council members took up the suggestion and didn't place it on the council's agenda. Aoun got into a heated verbal exchange with Council President Mike Sareini, who then had police remove the activist from the council's chambers after he ignored Sareini's warnings not to interrupt him. During the public comments section, a few supporters of Aoun spoke in favor of his proposal while one resident, Jackson Wagner, spoke out against homophobia and bigotry.

Aoun said his proposal is not aimed at any one group and would also ban flags that may be popular in parts of Dearborn's Arab American and Muslim communities.

"Don't bring it down my throat," Aoun said before the meeting, explaining his opposition to LGBTQ+ flags potentially being flown on city properties. "I'm not telling you to put the Lebanese flag. I'm not telling you to put the Ramadan flag."

The situation in Dearborn is a bit different from Hamtramck, in that no one is believed to have raised the LGBTQ+ flag on city property or attempted to do so. Conservatives say they want the resolution passed to block any potential attempts in the future. In Hamtramck, the flag was flown a couple of times, outside City Hall and later on a city flagpole, before the Hamtramck city council voted unanimously in June to ban them on city properties. Livonia's city council also passed a law last year restricting LGBTQ+ and other flags after Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan flew it last year at City Hall, leading to objections from city councilmen and some conservatives. There have been a growing number of similar bans across the country, LGBTQ+ advocacy groups said.

Sareini told the Free Press afterward that the issue of what flags to raise in Dearborn hasn't come up yet and so they aren't considering any resolution for now. But he added that under current city law, allowing one type of flag could open the doors for other groups to raise their flags.

Hamtramck: Defying new law, LGBTQ+ pride flag is raised, then removed by city

He said the city's current law is vague on the issue of what flags are allowed on city property. The flags of the United States and the state of Michigan currently fly outside Dearborn's city hall building, known as the Dearborn Administrative Center.

In speaking with Dearborn's city attorney, Sareini said his understanding is that "since we don't have any policy on it, and there's no issue, that we don't have to act on it."

But if later, "we turned around and allowed any group (to raise a flag), then we have to allow all groups, as a speech issue."

Aoun has been outspoken over the past year in Dearborn and Hamtramck. In October, he was one of the leading protesters who shut down a Dearborn Public Schools board meeting in opposition to certain LGBTQ+ books in schools that they said were too explicit. He also spoke at the Hamtramck council meeting when the flag resolution was passed.

At the Tuesday meeting in Dearborn, Aoun addressed the council after handing out copies of his proposal.

"I'm asking you to adopt this recommendation" and put it on the council's agenda, he said. After getting no response, he asked the council to suspend the rules and take a roll call to get the response from each individual councilperson.

After Sareini started to speak, Aoun interrupted him.

"You're going to let me speak," Sareini told him. If not, "we're going to have you removed. That's your warning."

A few minutes later, after Aoun kept interrupting, three officers approached him at the lectern and escorted him out of the building.

Aoun told the Free Press later that he will continue to bring up the proposal at future meetings.

Some residents spoke out in support of Aoun.

Hamtramck: City council ousts commissioners who raised LGBTQ+ flag

"I think it would be a great proposal," Hassan Beydoun told the council. "It won't favor certain groups or ideologies over the whole of us. ... It will stop a lot of the division we have."

Beydoun said that having only the American and Michigan flags would promote unity.

Wagner, who was booed last year when he spoke at a Dearborn Public Schools board meeting in support of the LGBTQ+ community, said at the meeting that queer men like himself have been persecuted over the years, including by the Nazis, who put them in concentration camps. Gay people are not just "mere ideologies," but actual human beings, Wagner said. He also spoke about how the city needs to overcome the bigoted legacy of Orville Hubbard, a former mayor of Dearborn who had racist views of Black people and others.

State Rep. Erin Byrnes, D-Dearborn, whose district includes west Dearborn and Dearborn Heights, attended the meeting to speak about state funds Dearborn has received in the new state budget.

Speaking later to the Free Press, Byrnes said that Dearborn should be a welcoming city for all, including the LGBTQ+ community. In 2019, Byrnes introduced a Dearborn City Council resolution when she was a councilperson supporting LGBTQ+ people that proclaimed June as Pride Month. It was passed unanimously, she said.

The resolution said city council members should work to "ensure that we are an inclusive community that welcomes and protects people of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity. ... We encourage our residents to reflect on the ongoing struggle for equality of the LGBTQ community."

Byrnes said she hopes that Dearborn will be seen as a place that is welcoming to all: "I have always been a vocal advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and remain steadfast in my commitment to equality."

Over the past year, Dearborn has received national attention for anti-LGBTQ+ protests. But it does have longtime LGBTQ+ residents and, for years before the pandemic, was the location of the annual Michigan LGBT ComedyFest without any problems.

Sareini said, as the headquarters for Ford Motor Co., Dearborn should not be biased against anyone.

"We don't want to discriminate against any people or any person," he said.

Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com, Facebook.com/nwarikoo, Twitter @nwarikoo

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dearborn ban on pride, other flags on city property proposed