Impassioned speakers on both sides of the LGBTQA rights issue spoke Thursday at Butler City Council at the city building.

The acronym stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and allied.

Cantor Michele Gray-Schaffer, spiritual leader of B’nai Abraham, brought up an anti-discrimination ordinance that was rejected by the council in 2011.

Gray-Schaffer spoke to the council about the recent mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., which left 49 dead and 53 wounded, and how a subsequent candlelight vigil in Pittsburgh inspired her to want to revive the ordinance.

“I really feel that I am called to do this, and I speak to you from the heart,” she said to the council.

The ordinance, initially created by Parents, Friends, and Family of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) in part, states: “In order to ensure that all persons regardless of actual or perceived race, color, sex, religion, ancestry, genetic information, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, familial status, age, mental or physical disability, use of guide or support animals and/or mechanical aids, enjoy the full benefits of citizenship and are afforded equal opportunities for employment, housing and the use of public accommodations, and to have equal access to post-secondary educational institutions, it is necessary that appropriate legislation be enacted.”

Gray-Schaffer said of the council’s previous rejection “that was then and this is now,” and she asked the council to revisit the ordinance.

She implored the council from a moral standpoint to enact the ordinance, noting that it says in the Bible that all humans are created in God’s image.

“In other words, no exceptions,” she said. “As moral people, how can we discriminate against anyone? People are people are people, period.”

But Pastor Jeff Harris of Crossroad Community offered a countering opinion.

“Not all pastors in the city are in agreement,” he said.

He said that passing of such an ordinance would be harmful to religion.

“Anti-discrimination in this country is not about discrimination, but about suppressing religious freedom,” he said.

He cited several examples of people he said had their religious freedoms suppressed, including Kim Davis, a Kentucky county official who spent time in jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples because of her religious beliefs.

He also spoke of an incident at Butler County Community College in October of 2013 in which the college shut down the Christian Club for a week, and spoke of a homosexual student and his friends harassing the club members at their club meetings.

“We’re not going to sit back and let our religious freedoms be oppressed as they have been over and over and over again,” he said.

After Harris spoke, most of the speakers were pro-LGBTQA rights.

Josh Crawford, PLFAG president and owner of Butler’s M&J’s Lounge, a members-only gay bar in Butler, addressed the council.

He said people ask him why he doesn’t advertise his bar.

“I’m afraid to advertise because I’m afraid of what just happened in Florida,” he said.

He also noted that there are 18 gay people who own businesses in the city, some known as homosexual, some not.

PFLAG member Sabrina Schnur of Butler responded to Harris’ comments that the ordinance would suppress religious freedom.

“This is equal right,” she said. “Not special right, as they were trying to say.”

Shawn Maroney of Butler took a different stance.

“This will not prevent shootings from occurring,” he said.

Like Harris, he said that ordinances such as this are used to suppress religious freedom. He spoke of Oregon bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein, who in 2015 were fined $135,000 for refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding. They cited their Christian faith as the reason for the refusal.

Maroney also noted Crawford’s mention of 18 gay business owners in Butler.

“There are many people living the homosexual lifestyle who own businesses,” he said. “I don’t see any barriers there do I?”

Benjamin Vincent responded by given an emotional speech about his struggles as a gay, devoutly Jewish man.

“You want to talk about persecution?” he said, staring at Maroney. “Talk about a man who attempted suicide five times because he loved his God.”

“Let’s have some protection for all of us,” he continued. “It doesn’t matter who we are.”

Michael Bell of Butler and a friend of Maroney’s spoke about being a Jewish man who believes in Jesus Christ. He said that while he believes homosexual practice is a sin, he still loves the homosexual community.

As a volunteer minister, he said he simply wants to be able to preach what he believes, and fears that ordinances such as these may pose a threat.

“What I want is protection to preach those things to individuals,” he said.

After seeing the presentation of the ordinance spark a religious debate, Sherry Halm of Butler said, “They’re asking for the same thing that the pastors are. All they want to do is go in and sit down in a restaurant without being asked to leave.”

Aleshia Houth of Butler talked about her uncle, William Jackson, the class president of his high school in 1948 who had to eat his food sitting against the post office wall because he wasn’t allowed to eat inside the restaurant because he was African-American.

She compared it to today’s struggles for LGBTQA rights, and spoke of Butler’s prejudice.

“So many young people leave Butler and it’s because of this mindset,” she said.

Council members commented afterward about the speakers.

“We need to treat each other as people,” said Councilman Corey Roche. “It’s not always about putting labels on each other.”

Councilman Michael Walter said the ordinance is long and could be trimmed down. Both he and Councilman Rick Schontz shared the sentiment that it’s something important to look at.

“I was glad to hear both sides,” said Mayor Tom Donaldson. “They both make valid points, and we’ll see what happens.”

Donaldson also noted that a state bill to prohibit discrimination in employment and housing based on sexual orientation or gender recently passed the Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee.

Councilwoman Kathy Kline, who voted against the ordinance in 2011, commented.

“As one of our speakers said, that was then and this is now,” she said. “I’ll give to it an awful lot of thought and contemplation.”