Gay rights activists in Michigan will
begin on Monday a 100-day hunger strike to protest the state's
“extreme anti-equality environment.” The strike ends on Election
Day.
The Community Centers Network, which is
made up of eight lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community
centers located throughout Michigan, is organizing the demonstration.
David Garcia, executive director of
Affirmations, the state's largest gay community center in Ferndale,
will be the first activist to go on a 24-hour hunger strike in the
windows of Affirmations.
Organizers hope to raise awareness of
the anti-gay rhetoric of some Michigan elected officials and current
and proposed legislation which denies LGBT equality.
An “Equality Rights Hall of Shame”
at the website Hungry4Equality.com
calls out six Republican public figures who oppose gay rights,
including Michigan State Representatives David Agema and Tom
McMillin, Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger, Troy Mayor Janice
Daniels, AFA's Gary Glenn, and Attorney General Bill Schutte.
Daniels last month said that being
gay is dangerous in explaining her comments criticizing New York's
decision to legalize gay marriage. Glenn has a long history of
opposing gay rights. As president of the American Family Association
(AFA) of Michigan he co-authored Michigan's constitutional amendment
banning gay marriage, which was approved by voters in 2004.