Community Center Says Gay Couple Doesn't Fit The Definition

WARREN, MICHIGAN - Mark Jeason and his partner, Martin Murdick, have been together for nearly 18 years and consider themselves a family.
But their longtime commitment wasn't enough to qualify for a family membership at the Warren Community Center. Now, the couple is considering taking their complaint to a national gay rights organization and considering moving out of Warren after 14 years to protest what they say is discrimination against same-sex couples.
Jeason said he was told by center employees that only husbands, wives and their children younger than 18 qualify for family rates.
"It was kind of hurtful. I don't count as a citizen of Warren," said Jeason, 38. "I definitely won't go there (to the community center) for that plain fact, unless they welcomed me as a family."
However, the city says they're just following Michigan law.
"(Jeason and Murdick) don't fit the definition of a family," said Henry Bowman, director of parks and recreation. "Same-sex couples are not legally married in Michigan. That's the only definition we can go with.
"How could we differentiate between two friends living in the same household?"
An individual adult pass at the center on Arden costs $230 a year; a family pass is $500. While Jeason recognizes that the two adult passes are a better deal, he's upset the city won't recognize him and Murdick as a family.
"We pay taxes. We go to church. We make friends and support our community," said Jeason, noting they've worn matching rings for five years. "If none of that sounds like a family to the city of Warren, I believe they are going to have a large number of unhappy residents."
There isn't one concrete definition of a family, and to deny recognition to a gay couple "is demeaning their love and commitment to each other," said Sean Kosofsky, director of policy for the Detroit-based Triangle Foundation, the state's largest gay-rights group.
"Family is about love and commitment, and for the city of Warren to reject that is anti-family."
Jeason and Murdick have been looking forward to using the pool and fitness equipment at the Warren Community Center for months. Jeason toured the facility in the summer and was excited to start a workout regimen. He was even hoping to bring his niece once in awhile.
Jeason visited the center last week to buy the pass, but put his checkbook away when he was given the family definition. He went to break the news to Murdick.
"I was rather surprised," said Murdick, 45. "It was something that I started to look forward to. It leaves you with a very empty, hollow feeling. It's a real shame.
"We are a part of this community … obviously if they don't want us in this community, why should we stay here?"
Several Warren Community Center members declined to comment when asked about the matter outside the facility Friday. One member, George Sandy, 43, said he wasn't opposed to the idea of same-sex couples getting family rates.
"I'm not against gay relationships," he said. "Everyone has a right to live his life the way they want. They have feelings, too."
from The Detroit News