Politics & Government

Troy Mayor Called Gay Lifestyle 'Dangerous,' Recording Reveals

Janice Daniels' comments disturbed high school Gay-Straight Alliance members and others from the community gathered to plan an anti-bullying event.

When Troy Mayor Janice Daniels met earlier this month with members of the   planning an event on bullying or suicide, she told them she would "bring in psychiatrists who will tell you that the homosexual lifestyle is dangerous," according to audiotapes provided by the city, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Troy High School senior Skye Curtis, who was at the Jan. 9 meeting,

Curtis said when they were talking about who could speak during the event, Daniels "alluded to the fact that she wanted to bring in a panel of psychologists who would testify that homosexuality was a mental disease."

Find out what's happening in Troywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

When asked about the comments at the Troy City Council meeting that same night, Jan. 9, Daniels said she said no such thing.

"That is a misrepresentation entirely," Daniels said in an interview with Troy Patch that evening. "I would like to meet with Skye and her parents to discuss these kinds of issues. Rather than have all this division, we need to come together, because I never said that."

Find out what's happening in Troywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In an interview after the meeting, Daniels said what she said was there's a higher incidence of overall disease in the homosexual community, the Free Press said.

GSA member  also attended Jan. 9 meeting and described the exchange: "Somebody said something to the effect of, 'We can't tell these kids that what they're doing is wrong,'"

"And she said, 'Well, I can get a panel to testify,'" Curtis said. "Which is really horrifying, because if we're trying to prevent suicide, telling a room full of gay kids that they have a mental disease probably isn't a way to prevent suicide."

During public comment Jan. 9, Amy Weber – who was also at the event planning meeting – said she was so disturbed by Daniels' comments that she attended the Troy City Council meeting to ask for an audio copy of the meeting, which the mayor recorded.

A recording of the meeting was released to the Detroit Free Press on Friday after a Freedom of Information Act request to the city. Troy Patch also requested the recording, but had not yet received it.

Daniels first came under fire in early December over her  before she was elected mayor in November.

Daniels confirmed posting the status update to her page and defended the statement. 

"I firmly support marriage as being defined as between one man and one woman and I am not going to change my position," . "That said, I love all people and will continue to work towards promoting a vibrant City of Troy."

It's been a volatile first couple of months for the new mayor, who has also been under attack for her and public reading of a . Some residents have called for Daniels to step down and others have vowed to mount a recall effort.

nearly three-quarters of Troy voters surveyed said they would support recalling Daniels from office.

> Complete coverage: Troy mayor under fire


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