MICHIGAN: Lansing Unanimously Votes To Cut Sister City Ties To St. Petersburg

A symbolic but welcome gesture in Michigan:

The city council voted unanimously last night to sever its "sister" relationship with St. Petersburg, Russia, over that city’s anti-gay policies, which effectively prohibits any expression of gay identity or support for equal rights for gay people. "I think all of us that sit at this dais believe that this is extremely important," Lansing City Council President Carol Wood said, according to MLive. "We want to make sure that we're supporting the LGBT community not only in our own city but in cities across the world. When we see atrocities like this, this is how we speak, through our resolutions. This is our opportunity to say that this is not right."

Petitions calling from the same move have been launched in many other cities. (Tipped by JMG reader Joel)