Anti-discrimination group has large heart

by Cynthia Price
Legal News

On the beautiful sunny day that Friday of last week turned out to be, about 150 people in red showed up at Rosa Parks Circle around noon.

The reason? The group wanted to form a large heart made of humans, with equal marks unfurled below it, to symbolize their feelings about the refusal last year of the Holland City Council to pass a law which would protect Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/

Transgendered (LGBT) people from discrimination.

The organizer of the event, in its second year, is Until Love Is Equal (ULIE), a group which has a strong online presence, particularly on Facebook. Among other actions, that group has sponsored Public Service Announcements by a number of prominent Grand Rapidians, attended Holland City Council meetings to testify, and enlisted a growing number of Holland businesses in support of the anti-discrimination provision.

Both Grand Rapids and Muskegon, the other two points of the West Michigan “triplex,” have such anti-discrimination ordinances, but Holland has still not passed one.
Avanti Law Group was a major sponsor of the event, and ULIE founder Erin Wilson mentions the special help of Raquel Salas.

Wilson did much of the work to put the event together, while his wife Amy ordered the group into its perfect heart shape by giving directions through a megaphone.

Shown on page 1, in a photograph taken from high above downtown by Adam Bird, Photographer, is the final product.

At right, this Legal News photo by Cynthia Price shows the crowd settling into place. The large chicken, who had a very red comb atop his yellow costume, is the mascot of 98.7 WFGR Classic Hits.

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