Homeless in Arizona

First Phoenix Councilman Michael Nowakowski get caught on video saying that gays are fourth class people.

Now Phoenix Councilman Michael Nowakowski is saying it was just a minor misunderstanding - his words had been misconstrued. And of course - please vote for me, I love gays.

F*ck Phoenix Councilman Michael Nowakowski, he is a lying hypocrite.

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Phoenix Councilman Michael Nowakowski refuses to resign over video

Dustin Gardiner, The Republic | azcentral.com 9:25 p.m. MST March 10, 2016

Fallout over a video showing Phoenix Councilman Michael Nowakowski apparently objecting to rights for gay and transgender people intensified Thursday as leaders of LGBT groups and the director of the Maricopa County Democratic Party called on him to resign.

Nowakowski apologized to anyone who might have been offended by his comments but refused to resign during a late-afternoon news conference.

"I take them back, and I’m sorry for the pain and hurt that I caused people," he said.

The councilman said he has, “No plans to resign. I will continue to fight for all people’s rights, and I (will) continue to make sure that the city of Phoenix is welcome to everyone."

In the video that surfaced online Tuesday, Nowakowski appears to voice his objections to same-sex marriage and transgender people being allowed to use the restroom of their choice.

Nowakowski, a Democrat who has supported rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, also released a statement Wednesday evening apologizing for the comments and suggesting his words had been misconstrued.

But the apology didn't quell the outrage of local LGBT leaders and other groups. They gathered Thursday morning outside the Phoenix Pride LGBT Center downtown, which is in Nowakowski's council district, to denounce his words and ask him to resign immediately.

“Councilman Nowakowski, we have supported you but you have not supported us, and that is clear," said JP Martin, a board member of Equality Arizona, one of the state's most prominent LGBT rights groups. "Please do the right thing and resign."

LGBT leaders said Nowakowski's past support for the gay community now appears to be a calculated move to get their political support while he privately opposed their push for equal rights. Several said they know of other instances where Nowakowski has privately made comments that weren't supportive of LGBT people.

He refused to answer questions about those allegations, calling them "politically motivated."

A powerful union also rebuked Nowakowski Thursday, following denouncements from a host of elected Democratic leaders. Those statements did not call for his resignation, however.

Jon Ryder, executive director of the Maricopa County Democratic Party, also called for the councilman's resignation.

Nowakowski made the comments last month while speaking to a group of Christian pastors about controversy over public prayer at council meetings.

"I never thought I would see the day that men and men would be married," Nowakowski said in the video. "Or where people were allowed to go into the same bathroom as my daughter. This world is changing, and it’s time for us to take the leadership and change it back to the way it should be.”

At his news conference Thursday, Nowakowski apologized and said his record shows he's a "longstanding" supporter of the LGBT community. The Rev. Jarrett Maupin and about a dozen Latino religious leaders also held a news conference at City Hall, where they said Nowakowski has a strong record of defending civil rights.

“So let’s be clear on where I stand with the LGBTQ community: I believe that love is love," Nowakowski said. “My faith teaches me not to judge and to love another as yourself."

However, the councilman said he has some concerns for the safety of children, as well as the safety of transgender people, in public bathrooms. "We need to figure out a way to make sure that there's safety on both sides," he said.

Nowakowski said his comment in the video about changing "back to the way it should be" was a reference to prayer. He had met with religious leaders to discuss the controversy that erupted after a group of Satanists were scheduled to give the opening invocation at a Phoenix City Council meeting.

"I misspoke during the emotional conversation about a subject that is very important to me, which is prayer," Nowakowski said. "When I made that comment I was referring to prayer. ... The reality was we were at risk of losing prayer in our city meetings."

The video was posted on a Facebook page two days before the council voted to end spoken prayer at the start of its meetings. No changes to the city's practice of holding an opening invocation at meetings had been made at that time.

Brendan Mahoney, an attorney and gay-rights leader, said he found Nowakowski's explanation unconvincing.

“The video also was not part of the debate to restore prayer, as the councilman has claimed," Mahoney said at the morning news conference with LGBT leaders. "The councilman made these offensive remarks several days before the vote was even taken. These remarks are unmistakably clear in meaning and in context."

Mahoney said what's most troubling are not Nowakowski's personal religious beliefs — in his statement Wednesday, the councilman said it is often difficult for him to personally reconcile LGBT issues as a practicing Catholic — but that Nowakowski hid his personal religious struggles while asking for "our endorsements, our money and our votes."

Reaction to the video has expanded beyond the LGBT community. James McLaughlin, president of the influential United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 99, sent Nowakowski a sharply-worded letter Thursday about the controversy. The union has been a strong ally of Nowakowski in the past.

"We are profoundly disappointed that you are not the man we thought you were. For those reasons and for whatever we will learn in the future about the 'real' Michael Nowakowski, you should no longer look for any endorsements from the men and women of UFCW in Arizona," McLaughlin wrote.

Phoenix City Councilman Michael Nowakowski is facing a firestorm of criticism after a video surfaced online Tuesday showing him objecting to same-sex marriage and transgender people being allowed to use the restroom of their choice. Wochit

Nowakowski's comments in the video also have been condemned by Mayor Greg Stanton, Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo and council members Laura Pastor, Kate Gallego and Daniel Valenzuela, among other Valley leaders.