Lesbian woman’s outrage against Muslim immigrants in the US goes viral after Pride parade ban, says ‘We helped you settle, now you ban us’
Hamtramck, Michigan. Catrina Stackpoole, a lesbian former councilwoman who once championed the cause of Muslim immigrants – helping them find food, clothing, and housing – now feels deeply betrayed. The city’s Muslim-majority council recently banned the Pride flag and refused to stand with LGBTQ+ groups during public celebrations.
Stackpoole’s words, emotional and raw, have gone viral on X (formerly Twitter), sparking a national debate. “We welcomed you,” she told the city council in a public meeting. “We created nonprofits to help feed, clothe, and find housing. We did everything we could to make your transition here easier, and this is how you repay us? By stabbing us in the back?”
With a population of just 28,000, Hamtramck saw a significant demographic shift over the last few decades, from being predominantly Polish to becoming majority Muslim, with large Yemeni and Bangladeshi communities. In 2021, the city elected what is believed to be the US’s only all-Muslim city council, with a Yemeni-born mayor, Amer Ghalib.
But in 2023, that same council voted unanimously to ban Pride flags and all non-governmental flags from city property. LGBTQ+ residents and their allies were stunned, especially those who had once advocated for the rights and inclusion of Muslim immigrants. The decision felt targeted. And in June 2025, during Pride Month, the tension reignited as city officials reportedly refused to march alongside LGBTQ+ groups in a local Labor Day parade, prompting Stackpoole’s viral remarks. The controversy has since drawn national attention, sparking protests and online campaigns urging the council to reconsider. Activist groups are now planning to file a civil rights lawsuit, arguing that the ban infringes on freedom of expression and equal representation.
Hamtramck’s mayor, Amer Ghalib — the same man who led the charge to ban the Pride flag — recently endorsed Donald Trump for president in 2024. Despite Trump’s previous anti-Muslim policies, such as the 2017 travel ban, Ghalib publicly declared Trump as “the right choice for this critical time.” In a Facebook post written in Arabic, he stated he had spoken to Trump about issues ranging from Yemen to Arab-American voting trends in Michigan and declared, “Let the caravan begin its journey.”
Ghalib is not alone. Across Michigan, a critical swing state, growing numbers of Muslim leaders have begun endorsing Trump.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is openly lesbian, also weighed in and urged the city to reverse what she called a “wall of exclusion.” Meanwhile, LGBTQ+ advocates in Hamtramck have reported increased vandalism and harassment since the ban. Incidents include teens egging homes with Pride flags and long-time residents expressing fear about being openly queer in their own city.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/worl...384576.cms
Hamtramck, Michigan. Catrina Stackpoole, a lesbian former councilwoman who once championed the cause of Muslim immigrants – helping them find food, clothing, and housing – now feels deeply betrayed. The city’s Muslim-majority council recently banned the Pride flag and refused to stand with LGBTQ+ groups during public celebrations.
Stackpoole’s words, emotional and raw, have gone viral on X (formerly Twitter), sparking a national debate. “We welcomed you,” she told the city council in a public meeting. “We created nonprofits to help feed, clothe, and find housing. We did everything we could to make your transition here easier, and this is how you repay us? By stabbing us in the back?”
With a population of just 28,000, Hamtramck saw a significant demographic shift over the last few decades, from being predominantly Polish to becoming majority Muslim, with large Yemeni and Bangladeshi communities. In 2021, the city elected what is believed to be the US’s only all-Muslim city council, with a Yemeni-born mayor, Amer Ghalib.
But in 2023, that same council voted unanimously to ban Pride flags and all non-governmental flags from city property. LGBTQ+ residents and their allies were stunned, especially those who had once advocated for the rights and inclusion of Muslim immigrants. The decision felt targeted. And in June 2025, during Pride Month, the tension reignited as city officials reportedly refused to march alongside LGBTQ+ groups in a local Labor Day parade, prompting Stackpoole’s viral remarks. The controversy has since drawn national attention, sparking protests and online campaigns urging the council to reconsider. Activist groups are now planning to file a civil rights lawsuit, arguing that the ban infringes on freedom of expression and equal representation.
Hamtramck’s mayor, Amer Ghalib — the same man who led the charge to ban the Pride flag — recently endorsed Donald Trump for president in 2024. Despite Trump’s previous anti-Muslim policies, such as the 2017 travel ban, Ghalib publicly declared Trump as “the right choice for this critical time.” In a Facebook post written in Arabic, he stated he had spoken to Trump about issues ranging from Yemen to Arab-American voting trends in Michigan and declared, “Let the caravan begin its journey.”
Ghalib is not alone. Across Michigan, a critical swing state, growing numbers of Muslim leaders have begun endorsing Trump.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is openly lesbian, also weighed in and urged the city to reverse what she called a “wall of exclusion.” Meanwhile, LGBTQ+ advocates in Hamtramck have reported increased vandalism and harassment since the ban. Incidents include teens egging homes with Pride flags and long-time residents expressing fear about being openly queer in their own city.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/worl...384576.cms
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
