Hopatcong's Position on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

Hopatcong Borough’s unified Republican Government have been all in on President Trump’s MAGA ideologies. This is a municipality that has waved their MAGA banners high at parades. The past Mayor (now a second term County Freeholder) is a big evangelist. As Mayor, she exercised her right not to perform wedding ceremonies because some of them could be in conflict to her religious convictions. The reach out to the LBGTQ community apart from the Hopatcong Borough public school system has been nonexistent in Hopatcong. These folks are a shadow community whose voices are not heard at Mayor and Council meetings. Whatever LGBTQ strides that were made by Hopatcong Borough’s public-school educators did not get transferred to the municipal offices’ and their leadership. School and Municipal gov remained a separate entity funded by a common taxpayer. There have been no joint policies, ethics and codes of conduct that banished discrimination on both fronts. The Mayor and Council continued to express that they are in full support to the views of President Donald Trump’s administration. This includes the notion that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act that bars discrimination based on sex did not extend to claims of gender identity and sexual orientation.

Hopatcong’s ultra-conservative mindset has also proselytized right leaning religious teachings personally popular to them. Besides houses of worship located inside the Borough, the previous Mayor followed the words of the late David Wilkerson founder of the Times Square Church headquartered in Manhattan. Hopatcong Borough had at one time four board officers from this church with lake front estate homes that alternated as religious retreats for baptisms on the lake. Hopatcong Borough issued a mayor proclamation award for their community outreach work. The Times Square Church chief executive officer even campaigned for a Hopatcong BOE position. Published on earlier political profiles was that son Michael was a pastor to its spin off church in Colorado led by Wilkerson’s grandson.

Hopatcong Borough keeps the remembrance of the “End of Times” days of 9-11 front and center at Hopatcong’s Municipal building where they were awarded the twisted wreckage from Ground Zero that was formed into a gold gilded monument that stands in front of its building and faithfully there are annual ceremonies to this solemn event and the lives lost.

Last year there appeared to be some signs of social political change that diverged from the enraptured government in place for almost a decade. Tapped to reconstruct the municipal authorized Farmer’s Market and Flea Market was the young grandson of two former council members who was openly gay. The new Mayor boasted how he was going to perform marriage ceremonies again because “Love is Love”. Christopher Ryan had big hopes to infuse the vibes and culture of his social networking generation into the Borough. He successfully set about securing vendors to participate in the newly combined market and he also set up his own charity donation drives for neighbors that are financially stretched. Christopher had two big challenges in life - to get people to accept him as a gay man and to manage his life threatening suicidal depression. Getting recognition from mayor Michael Francis brought a lot of positive energy into his life. The mayor promised that they would fly the Rainbow flag high on the flag post together when the market reopened.

This dream of the rainbow flag to represent the LGBT community never got launched because, a deeply Christian councilwoman on the Market Committee found Christopher’s forceful gay personality too profane and wanted him off future committees. She found an ally in a retired NYC FBI officer who was also a council member. This FBI retiree has taken a “deep state” approach in running our local borough government. He was able to procure copies of private telephone text messages Christopher sent to a friend that used flagrant gay humor on what he would like do to this Market Committee Councilwoman he was having disagreements with. The content of the private text messages was passed around to those attending the February 19th. Mayor and Council Meeting. There was also a plea from this FBI retiree to ban Christopher from all public places because he was a known criminal a person of “Persona non Grata” with a list of charges. However, his arrest was an urgent call to the police for his own protection. He was experiencing a suicidal episode. To make this public meeting event even more damaging to Christopher was that it was recorded and uploaded on YouTube.

The Supreme Court ruled Monday June 16 that Federal civil rights law protects gay, lesbian and transgender workers. It is a landmark ruling that will extend protections to millions of workers nationwide. It is considered a defeat for the Trump administration. Ironically the 6-3 opinion was written by Justice Neil Gorsuch. He is President Donald Trump's first Supreme Court nominee. Justice Gorsuch was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the court's four liberal justices on this ruling.

"An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids," Gorsuch wrote.

Maybe this landmark opinion will reach the Municipality of Hopatcong Borough and there will be more kindness and compassion to the LGBTQ members it employs for its volunteer projects. In the meantime, Christopher Ryan has created his own safe place The 3 Corners - Sussex/Warren/Morris Voices! Facebook Group page where he shares his experience of being gay and living with suicidal depression. He is finally allowed his own voice on his feelings of the hostile treatment he has received by a few elected members and employees of the Borough. It has resulted in his own legal council and recourse. He is making an effort to distance himself from these political players and is getting his reputation and life back on track.