03-26-12 Common Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING MARCH 26, 2012 orientation, national origin, and generations. Most importantly we engaged all of our team members in helping to design build and sell the worlds best vehicles. We recognize that people are truly our greatest assets and they will only be successful when our employees are able to really be themselves and perform at their highest capabilities inside General Motors within the community. This is the same for Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, and the rest of his customers. He stated that he thinks that is his opinion and the opinion of the people of the 1 District. Councilmember Schey advised that she thinks this is the right thing to do with this bill and hopes that this will advance our community towards becoming a more tolerant and accepting community. Councilmember Fred Ferlic advised that obviously there has been a different interpretation of the scenarios presented tonight. He did apologize to Pat and his friend Rick and all the others and our wonderful nurse friend if he sounded arrogant when he talked about the catechism. He stated that wasn’t the point he was selecting one particular interpretation of that. He stated that he was raised on catechism. He stated that as a scientist he tries to look at the facts and figures. His favorite quote one by Patrick Moynahan that he made in 1966 when he said “you entitled to your own opinion but not your own facts.” So he is basing it upon that. Councilmember Varner stated that what he has learned from two previous evenings with this is that this is not as proposed a simple moral decision that has to be made, because there is enormous injustice going on out their in a selected group. He doesn’t profess to understand all the legalities and he does think that some of the references made by both Professor Rice and some of the others folks with regard to the legal nature ought to be examined rather than moving forward. He stated that as it is he cannot believe either one of those folks would stand up here raise a question without sincerely believing that those questions exist and without sincerely believing that this Council perhaps should address them. This rights when they are exercised by people are relative in nature, one persons rights begin with another persons end. The difficult part is deciding where one’s begin and another ones end. He doesn’t profess to have the answer to that and there is a better answer than what is proposed here tonight and thinks we should take the time to discuss it. One of things that concerns him as much as anything he knows that part of the things that Dr. Ferlic mentioned is that one of the problems with having your own facts or not having your own facts is that there are so many facts out there that people could interpret, that need to be interpreted and thinks that they need to be considered. One of the concerns he has is one of Murphy’ Laws and that the result of the unintended consequences. He sincerely believes and he is an employer a small employer, that if he finds himself confronted with a circumstance that it is difficult, he prefers to address it as such folks like General Motors and Ford do, and they handle it internally. They don’t turn it over to a quasi-judicial body that may or may not have a full understanding of everyone’s rights. He respects Mr. Douglas and what he does; there are times when it’s needed. He stated that he thinks there should be an exemption as explained for businesses which have a Christian background as well as just the schools. He stated that he thinks if you have a serious moral concern with how this plays out, then it should be considered. He stated that he hoped we will take the time to consider that. Because one of the unknown consequences of this could be that there are many businesses out there that have a very Christian background that will not consider locating here. He doesn’t for the life of him understand how putting one groups concerns before another ones makes us any more progressive except for in the eyes of the political manifesto. The best reason that we have heard tonight is that everybody else is doing it. He stated that he doesn’t know that the reason everybody else is doing is because it is good bad or indifferent, he just doesn’t know. He stated that he had hoped that they would take the time to look more deeply at this. It’s been a long night for everybody, but one of the questions that should be asked is that if in fact there are better answers; better language and he suspected that there are gentlemen here tonight who could help us with some of that, are the folks here tonight willing to consider amendments? Because if there is no one willing to consider amendments then we might as well have the vote. 27