08/25/2026
THE STONEWALL DEMOCRATS OF WNY STAND WITH TIM BURNS, CALL FOR ANSWERS FROM GRAND ISLAND
*LGBTQ+ organization says lawsuit shows how prejudice can harm not only the person targeted, but the entire community*
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Stonewall Democrats of Western New York today expressed its support for Timothy Burns, a longtime Town of Grand Island employee who has filed a federal lawsuit alleging years of anti-gay harassment, discrimination, and retaliation at the Town’s wastewater treatment plant.
According to the complaint, Burns endured homophobic slurs and degrading comments from coworkers, supervisors, and Town officials after colleagues learned he was gay. Burns also alleges that he repeatedly brought concerns about his treatment to Town officials and that those complaints went unanswered.
“The allegations here are ugly,” said Erich Weyant, Chair of the Stonewall Democrats of Western New York. “But we do not need to wait for a jury verdict in order to ask a basic question: What did the Town do when one of its employees told officials, in writing, that he was being targeted because he was gay? Burns says his complaints went nowhere. If that is true, this is a failure by his employer to take discrimination seriously.”
The lawsuit also raises a larger issue for Grand Island residents. According to Burns’s complaint, he repeatedly warned Town officials about problems involving another employee at the wastewater treatment plant, including concerns about missing mercury tests and other operational issues. Burns alleges that his warnings were discounted or ignored during the same period in which he was experiencing anti-gay hostility in the workplace.
“Bigotry is not only cruel, it makes institutions worse at their jobs,” Weyant said. “It causes people to discount expertise, ignore warnings, and make decisions based on who is speaking rather than what they are saying. If prejudice played any role in officials discounting legitimate operational or environmental warnings, then the consequences did not stop with Tim Burns. When government stops listening because of who is speaking, it can ignore signals that put our entire community at risk.”
New York’s protections for LGBTQ+ people were won through decades of organizing, advocacy, and political action. They matter even more now, as LGBTQ+ Americans, particularly transgender people, face renewed attacks in federal policy and politics.
“What is happening nationally should be a warning to us,” Weyant said. “We have protections in New York and Erie County because people before us fought for them. Defending those gains means making sure those protections are real in the places where people actually live and work.”
“To anyone in our community going through something like this: you do not have to assume you are on your own,” Weyant said. “Contact us. If we cannot help you ourselves, we will work to connect you with people who can. An organized community looks out for its own.”
About Stonewall Democrats of Western New York:
The mission of Stonewall Democrats of Western New York is to elect and support candidates for public and party office who champion equality, safety, and opportunity for Western New York’s LGBTQ2S+ community. Through endorsements, campaign support, voter engagement, and electoral action, Stonewall builds LGBTQ2S+ political power and holds elected leaders accountable to our community.
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