Two Michigan former officials sue city over ‘unconstitutional’ Pride flag ban

Two former officials from Hamtramck, Michigan, filed a lawsuit in federal court on Monday, alleging the city’s recent ban on flying Pride flags and certain other flags on city property is unconstitutional.

Cathy Stackpoole and Russ Gordon were both members of the Hamtramck human relations commission in June, when the Hamtramck city council approved a resolution banning the flying of LGBTQ+ Pride flags on city property, along with certain other flags.

The next month, Stackpoole and Gordon raised a Pride flag on a city-owned flagpole in violation of the new resolution. According to court documents, the councilmember Mohammed Hassan spotted the flag and called the police, who removed the flag. The city council subsequently fired Stackpoole and Gordon from the commission. They are suing for damages and to be reinstated, but they say their lawsuit is about much more.