Politics & Government

Mayor: Donation to LGBT Group 'Not a Gimmick'

Mayor Kimberley Driscoll said that her promise to donate money to a local group group in support of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth was not a gimmick.

"We did this because the single best way we can express a clear vision for an inclusive, welcoming, and loving nation, is by turning hate on its head and transforming it into a call for positive action and positive change," Driscoll said in a Facebook post. "And no other community in the nation probably has a more apt historical lesson on this point than Salem, Massachusetts."

Her promise to make the donation came days after she terminated the city government's contract with Gordon College to run Old Town Hall when Gordon President D. Michael Lindsay signed a letter to President Barack Obama, asking for a religious exemption from federal regulations that bar employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Driscoll said calls starting coming in to her City Hall office opposing the move. In response, she said she would donate $5 to the North Shore Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth (Nagly) for each out-of-state call opposing the decision.









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