Captain James K. Dressel (October 14, 1943 – March 24, 1992) was an Air Force pilot, and a Michigan politician in the 1970s and early 1980s. Although he was a conservative Republican, in 1983 he co-sponsored the state's first bill to protect gay and lesbian people from discrimination in employment and housing. He was profiled in Randy Shilts' book in the chapter "Heroes".[
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Biography
Dressel was born in Holland, Michigan, to German and Dutch parents, and raised in the United Methodist Church.[
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Following his military service, he became a member of the Air National Guard and began a career in politics as a Republican. He was elected to the Ottawa County Commission, and served as county treasurer before being elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 1978, serving the 95th District.[
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He surprised his constituents in October 1983 by co-sponsoring House Bill 5000, an amendment to the state's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on "sexual orientation" in employment and housing.[ He was soundly defeated in the Republican Partisan primary for re-election in 1984, by a candidate he had easily out-polled in the previous primary.]
He was later somewhat more open about his homosexuality, and became active in advocating civil rights protection for gay and lesbian people, including a stint leading the Michigan Organization for Human Rights.
