The current council recognized the milestone at its March 6 meeting at City Hall, 410 Abbot Road.
George Griffiths, who served on council and as mayor in the early 70s and spoke after the presentation, said it was an exciting time to help residents.

“I’m glad to know we were the first in the nation,” he said.

At the time of the decision, the nationwide lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender movement had not yet begun, and the culture at the time made the move more significant, said William Sawyer-Todd, the chair of the city’s Human Relations Commission, in an email.

“There was very little national publicity about the city’s new ordinance,” he said in the email. “Only recently has light been shown on the event for what it was: a very dramatic first.”

Sawyer-Todd said student involvement was key in passing the ordinance, as members of what was then MSU’s Gay Liberation Movement pressed council toward its decision.

“Student activists from campus were the originators and the driving force,” he said in the email. “They worked months in advance and, acting step-by-step, brought their goal to fruition.”

Chair of MSU’s Alliance of Queer and Ally Students Mark Doebler told council at the meeting the resolution is a small step in future outreach efforts by the current alliance.

“I’d like to thank you for this commemoration and also for this honor of the recognition of student voices working toward a better tomorrow,” he told council at the meeting.

But officials still had mixed opinions about nationwide acceptance of members of the LBGT community.

While support for lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans has improved with time, certain groups — specifically transgender people — still face struggles when it comes to everyday acceptance, Sawyer-Todd said.

“Their’s has been a difficult road toward acceptance, but they are on the right path by organizing more tightly and increasing their visibility,” he said in the email.

East Lansing Mayor Pro Tem Nathan Triplett said it’s ironic that despite the city’s ordinance, sexual orientation still is being targeted for discrimination, particularly by lawmakers.

In January, the city council voted to support a lawsuit being pushed forward by the American Civil Liberties Union against the State of Michigan. The lawsuit claims same-sex couples are unfairly targeted by a recently passed Michigan law that prevents public employers, such as East Lansing, from providing benefits to domestic partners, including gay and lesbian couples.

“I think that’s an important part of the dialogue: that we were a leader on this issue 40 years ago,” Triplett said.

Staff writer Kellie Rowe contributed to this report.