Equality Michigan Blog

Equality Michigan has been working passionately for over 20 years to achieve full equality and respect for all people in Michigan regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

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Thank you to everyone that volunteered and attended this year's Motor City Pride! We had a great time and hope you did too!

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News Highlights: Join Equality Michigan and thousands of your closest friends for Motor City Pride!

Join us for Motor City Pride 2015!

The Motor City Pride Festival and Parade - on June 6th and 7th - celebrates the advancements that Michigan's LGBTQ community has made, while bringing together the community to work for full equality for all Michiganders. Held in Detroit's beautiful Hart Plaza, the annual event's live music, DJs, vendors, and food attracts tens of thousands of attendees, making it the largest LGBTQ celebration in Michigan.

The festival's exciting lineup this year is sure to attract crowds from around the Midwest to the Motor City. Featured headliners include Carman Electra and Betty Who, along with over 200 of Michigan's best DJs, bands and dancers performing a variety of music on the festival's five stages.  A complete list of performers and the event's schedule can be found at www.motorcitypride.org.  Daily admission is $5.00; there is no charge for guests 12 and under.

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  Check out our online Pride Center for a listing of Michigan pride events!

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Sign up to volunteer for Equality Michigan at a pride near you

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OUT In The Community For You

From our Interim Executive Director

I am humbled and honored to have the opportunity to advance Equality Michigan’s mission during this time of executive transition.  Thank you to all who have welcomed me since joining the organization on April 15th.  Thank you to the board, strategic and coalition partners, community leaders, current and former donors, and many in Lansing who took time to meet with me to share their thoughts about the things Equality Michigan is doing well and, with sincerity and support, where we have opportunities for improvement.  Importantly, I want to recognize the dedicated staff that has come together and worked diligently during this time of change.

After the conversations with the community of supporters and in working with staff, the vision for Equality Michigan’s future is compelling and much needed.  We have developed detailed action plans around core field and advocacy initiatives for 2015 and beyond and we are aggressively working to achieve them.  We intend to be much more visible around the state, more out front on issues as opposed to responding to them and more strategic in our approach to challenging and changing discriminatory practices in our state.  Consistently, we will be working collaboratively with the community and our partners as we work to achieve full equality for all in Michigan.

We are excited about the future and what it holds for Equality Michigan.  These are exciting and energizing times for LGBT rights in our country.  These are also challenging times in our state.  With each day on the job, I am reminded that it takes all of us, working together, to help Michigan evolve on LGBT issues.  I am confident that Equality Michigan is on the right track.  We invite you to join us on this mission and I am excited to be on it with you.

Thank you! Bill Greene

Equality Michigan on the road

Jennifer Judd, our new Director of Field Operations, will be traveling the state in June to meet with community leaders on a "Listening Tour." She will be heading to Marquette, Traverse City, Alpena, Midland, Grand Rapids, Benton Harbor, Holland, Lansing, Ann Arbor and Detroit. If you have an event or would like to meet with her during this time please contact Jen at 313-537-7000 ext. 109 or on her mobile at 248-251-3805. 

  Meet Equality Michigan's Sommer Foster

Sommer Foster is responsible for advancing Equality Michigan's policy agenda before the state legislature, executive branch, and local governmental bodies. She works closely with the Director of Field Operations to implement community engagement and organizing strategies in support of policy initiatives.

Sommer Foster came to Equality Michigan after working in constituent services and outreach for Congressman David Alan Curson. She has previously served as a campaign or field organizer for multiple candidates in federal, state, and local elections. An ally of the LGBT community, Sommer graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a bachelor's degree in political science and from Jackson Community College with an associate in arts. She is also serving on the Canton Township Library Board of Directors and is an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Center for Progressive Leadership.

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Please welcome to the Equality Michigan family...

Equality Michigan is thrilled to be adding two new members to our staff, Jennifer Judd and Steele Lindbloom. Jennifer Judd will be working as our Director of Field Operations, and has twelve years of campaign, organizing, communications, and media experience. She has worked in various cities including St. Louis, MO, Chicago, IL, and Washington D.C. She is happy to be back in Michigan, her home state, working on LGBTQ issues. Steele Lindbloom has joined Equality Michigan as Accounting Coordinator. Lindbloom has years of finance experience, worked in banking for five years, and previously served as Finance Manager of Dial Help, Inc. in Houghton, Michigan.

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Equality Michigan remembers the fallen.

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Equality Michigan supports victims of anti-LGBTQ or HIV related harassment, discrimination, or violence.

Help support this vital work: http://eqmi.us/GiveOUT15

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The Wayland City United Church of Wayland Council Monday night without comment or fanfare adopted a non-discrimination ordinance by a 6-0 vote.

Wayland becomes 39th city to pass LGBTQ inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance!

Equality Michigan applauds the Wayland City Council for doing the right thing and sending a powerful message that their city is open for business and welcoming of all people. It is shameful that it remains legal statewide to fire someone or discriminate against them in public establishments simply because of who they are or who they love. In the absence of action by our state legislature to modernize the Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act and address this problem, Michiganders depend on these local ordinances and policies to protect them from discrimination.

Michigan has thirty-nine local ordinances inclusive of LGBTQ people, more than any other state in the nation. Wayland now finds itself in good company amongst other cities making it clear that their community supports compassion and love over hate and intolerance. Equality Michigan looks forward to seeing more cities join Wayland, and once again calls on our leaders in Lansing to finally modernize Michigan's statewide anti-discrimination law to be inclusive of LGBTQ people.

See the full list ---> http://eqmi.us/miHROs

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The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Michigan announced on Thursday that they have filed a federal lawsuit against the Michigan Secretary of State challenging a department policy that makes it impossible for many transgender individuals to correct the gender on their driver’s licenses and other forms of identification.

Equality Michigan stands in solidarity with the National ACLU and the ACLU of Michigan as they move forward with their lawsuit in federal court against Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, challenging the Department's discriminatory policies against transgender Michiganders.  Equality Michigan works everyday to educate the public about issues that prohibit access to full equality for all people in Michigan, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.  The Department's current policies rise to the level of prohibiting equality for all.

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Equality Michigan educates the public and lawmakers on issues important to the LGBTQ and HIV communities.

Help support this vital work: http://eqmi.us/GiveOUT15

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Show your support for Equality Michigan: http://eqmi.us/GiveOUT15

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Equality Michigan is proud to be participating in the 3rd annual Give OUT Day, the national day of giving for the LGBTQ community! Today, the LGBTQ community and our allies from across the country will come together to raise critically needed funds to support the diverse array of LGBTQ nonprofits including community centers, arts groups, organizers, clinics, student clubs, sports leagues and more.

Support Equality Michigan's work: http://eqmi.us/GiveOUT15

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Michigan House Committee Approves Bill Barring Local Employment Laws, Exempts Local Human Rights Ordinances

Equality Michigan appreciates exemptions being added for local human rights ordinances

LANSING – Today the Michigan House Committee on Commerce and Trade voted out of committee House Bill 4052 (Poleski - R), which if signed into law would bar local employment laws. Following an amendment made just prior to today's vote, the legislation now includes language exempting local human rights ordinances from the bill. Equality Michigan's director of political advocacy, Sommer Foster, was present for the vote and had previously submitted testimony.

Equality Michigan, the statewide anti-violence and advocacy organization serving Michigan's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and HIV affected communities, supports victims of anti-LGBTQ discrimination in Michigan. The group has been working to modernize Michigan's anti-discrimination laws for over twenty years.

Statement by Sommer Foster Director of Political Advocacy, Equality Michigan

"Equality Michigan appreciates the efforts by legislators to exempt local anti-discrimination laws from House Bill 4052. Until the state acts on the urgent issue of LGBTQ discrimination by modernizing the Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act, LGBTQ Michiganders depend on these local ordinances and policies to protect them from discrimination. Equality Michigan believes government should be working to level the playing field for workers and protecting its citizens from harm. That is why we call on our leaders in Lansing to do the right thing and use their interest in employment laws to pass an LGBTQ inclusive update to the state's anti-discrimination law."

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More information on House Bill 4052: http://1.usa.gov/1PfkFw9

Equality Michigan has worked passionately for over 20 years to achieve full equality and respect for all people in Michigan regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. For more information, visit www.equalitymi.org.

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Motor City Pride, Michigan’s Largest LGBTQ Gathering, Announces Entertainment Lineup and Festival Schedule

Annual Detroit festival features music, food and vendors on Saturday, June 6, and Sunday, June 7, 2015 at Hart Plaza

DETROIT - The Motor City Pride Festival and Parade celebrates the advancements that Michigan's LGBTQ community has made, while bringing together the community to work for full equality for all Michiganders. Held in Detroit’s beautiful Hart Plaza, the annual event's live music, DJs, vendors, and food attracts tens of thousands of attendees, making it the largest LGBTQ celebration in Michigan.

The festival's exciting lineup this year is sure to attract crowds from around the Midwest to the Motor City. Featured headliners include Carman Electra and Betty Who, along with over 200 of Michigan's best DJs, bands and dancers performing a variety of music on the festival's five stages.  A complete list of performers and the event's schedule can be found at www.motorcitypride.org.  Daily admission is $5.00; there is no charge for guests 12 and under.

Since its start over 43 years ago as the first pride march in Michigan, the event has evolved into a culturally significant affair. With all the national attention on LGBTQ equality, this year’s festival is an especially important opportunity to raise awareness about LGBTQ issues and provide a safe space for the community to celebrate its successes and show solidarity as we face the road ahead.

The parade, sponsored by FCA US LLC and the FIAT Brand, brings together organizations and companies that are working together toward equality for Michigan citizens.  This year's parade will highlight many of the 300 couples that were married on March 22, 2014 - the day that same-sex couples could legally marry in Michigan. The parade is scheduled to begin at 12:00 (noon) on Sunday, June 7, 2015 outside of Chrysler House (719 Griswold, Detroit).

Motor City Pride is a volunteer-driven event celebrating the lives of Michigan's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens. Motor City Pride is a project of Equality Michigan, which has worked passionately for over 20 years to achieve full equality and respect for all people in Michigan regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. For more information, visit www.equalitymi.org.

Motor City Pride is sponsored by the following companies that support efforts to build an inclusive community that is free of violence, intimidation and discrimination. Current sponsors include: FCA US and the FIAT Brand, MotorCity Casino Hotel, Delta Air Lines, MGM Grand Detroit, Fifth Third Bank, General Motors, UAW-Ford, Five-15, MCC Detroit, Comerica Bank, Whole Foods Market, Great Lakes Distributing, Menjo’s, Netco, Zipcar, TD Auto Finance, Inferno, Uber, Pride Source Media, Metra Magazine, Flame Magazine, and AMP Radio.

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Michigan House considering bill reversing dozens of local human rights ordinances

We found this one hard to believe too, but rather than respond to the growing momentum for inclusion of LGBTQ people in anti-discrimination laws, rather than bring resolution to a fight against legalized discrimination that began in 1972, our leaders in Lansing are considering a bill that could undo all of that.

Pure Michigan is increasingly becoming about pure intolerance.

We all must stand up to this!

Today the Michigan House Committee on Commerce and Trade will hold a hearing on House Bill 4052 (Poleski -R), which if signed into law would void dozens of local human rights ordinances and other measures to help protect citizens. Equality Michigan's director of political advocacy, Sommer Foster, is in Lansing offering testimony opposing this bill - but we need your help!

It’s hard to believe that in 2015, it is still legal in Michigan to fire, evict or deny services to someone simply because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. It is even harder to believe that rather than address that problem, our leaders are wasting their time on a bill that would make it worse!

Send an email to members of the Michigan House Committee on Commerce and Trade demanding they oppose House Bill 4052.

Help us spread the word on social media:

Short link: http://eqmi.us/mi4052

Hashtag: #PureIntolerance

Say NO to this draconian measure!

Unfortunately, these are not the only bills which impact our community that the legislature in Lansing is discussing. The so-called "Religions Freedom Restoration Act" has already had its hearing, and its accompanying discriminatory adoption bills could get a full Senate vote any day now. We must also keep the pressure on to defeat these bills because #RFRAhurts Michigan!

Support Equality Michigan's efforts to fight these anti-LGBTQ efforts.

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TODAY is election day! It is time to queer the vote! Polls are now open!

Find out more about your local polling place and ballot: https://vote.michigan.gov/mvic/

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Analysis by Mark Totten of SCOTUS Marriage Equality Oral Arguments

This week the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in four cases meant to settle once-and-for-all whether marriage equality is protected by the federal Constitution.  Among these four cases is DeBoer v. Snyder, pitting Michigan’s Governor and Attorney General against two Hazel Park nurses who seek the right to jointly adopt their three special needs kids and marry each other.  For nearly four years, April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse have fought their legal battle in the courts.  On Tuesday morning they ascended the steps of the nation’s highest tribunal.  Although the Court’s decision will probably not come until the end of June, Tuesday’s argument suggested that victory may be near.

When the nine Justices gathered to question the lawyers on both sides of the debate this week, they focused on two questions.  The “marriage question” asked whether the Constitution enshrines marriage equality and the “recognition question” asked whether states like Michigan can refuse to recognize same-sex marriages validly performed in other states.  If the Court concludes that the Constitution does protect same-sex marriage, then the Court would never reach the second question. The heart of the legal battle surrounds the marriage question, which evoked the most spirited debate during the two-and-a-half hours that the Court heard arguments on Tuesday.  

Representing the states defending their marriage ban was former Michigan Solicitor General, John Bursch. Now an attorney in private practice, Attorney General Bill Schuette hired Bursch to argue the case.  Mary Bonauto, a longtime attorney with Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), argued the case for April and Jane, as well as the other plaintiffs who raised the marriage question.

Although both parties prepared highly-nuanced briefs brimming with legal doctrine and terminology, the core argument is simple.  The states defending their marriage bans argued that the U.S. Constitution does not protect a right of same-sex marriage and that states – not the courts – should decide the scope of marriage.  Bursch argued that Michigan can exclude gay and lesbian couples from the definition of marriage as long as the state has a rational basis for the exclusion.  The reason he gave to the Court?  As Schuette wrote in his brief:  “to encourage individuals with the inherent capacity to bear children to enter a union that supports child rearing.”

On the other side, the lawyers for April and Jane, argued that Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage violates the U.S. Constitution’s commitment to “equal protection” under the law, by treating loving parents and partners like Jayne and April (and their kids) different from heterosexual couples, denying them the benefits and dignity that come from marriage.  Moreover, they also argued that the right to marry is a “fundamental right” protected by the Constitution’s commitment to liberty, which a state cannot deny.

During the oral argument on Tuesday morning, the Justices focused their questions on a few areas.  Several of the conservative-leaning Justices repeated multiple times that a definition of marriage limited to one man and one woman was universally shared for “millennia,” and only recently have societies began to expand its scope.  Bonauto and several of the Justices, however, pushed back on this too simple observation about the history of marriage, noting that the meaning of marriage – which early in American law included the clear subordination of women – has been evolving for decades.

The same Justices also lamented aloud the woes that would follow if the Court decides this question in favor of marriage equality rather than letting the law develop state-by-state through the democratic process.  As Chief Justice John Roberts said to Bonauto:  “If you prevail here there will be no more debate.  I mean, closing off debate can close minds – and it will have a consequence on how the new institution is – is accepted.”  As the Chief Justice was making these remarks, opponents of marriage equality were chanting the same message just outside the Court:  “Don’t end debate!” (which at times was drowned out by the many more supporters of marriage equality who chanted:  “Love must win!”)  And yet for the Justices who clearly favored marriage equality, the response is easy: some rights should not be decided at the ballot box.  As Justice Kagan said:  “[O]f course, Mr. Bursch, we don’t live in a pure democracy; we live in a constitutional democracy – the Constitution imposes limits on what people can do.”

Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Scalia also raised the question of religious liberty, which has gained headlines in recent weeks here in Michigan surrounding proposals in the state legislature.  Some of the questions had easy answers.  Several of the judges who favored marriage equality quickly agreed that the First Amendment would prevent a state or the federal government from requiring a minister to perform a same-sex wedding.  But several more challenging questions in this area remained unanswered, except that the Justices implicitly recognized that other constitutional questions would lie down the road if the Court recognized marriage equality.

Lastly, the Justices who favored marriage equality also invested considerable time challenging the claim by Michigan’s lawyer that the state’s marriage ban protects children by encouraging lasting relationships between heterosexual parents who raise their biological children.  Justice Kagan’s response expressed the puzzlement that several Justices felt at Michigan’s central argument:  “[I]t’s hard to see how  permitting same-sex marriage discourages people from being bonded with their biological children.”  Kagan went further and suggested that because of so many parents like April and Jayne, Bursch’s argument cuts the other way:  “The whole basis of your argument is that you want children in marital households.”

At the end of the day, the individual votes of the nine Justices will decide this case.  Based on the questioning in Tuesday’s argument, the decision will likely be 5-4.  Most of the Justices made clear which side of the debate they stand.  As in many past decisions, Justice Kennedy will likely cast the crucial vote.  Although his questions did not clearly betray a position—and he offered comments or queries that might encourage both sides—as a whole his contribution on Tuesday suggested Justice Kennedy is prepared to recognize marriage equality as a constitutional right.

Justice Kennedy is not new to this subject.  He was a decisive vote and wrote the opinion in previous cases dealing with the rights of gay Americans, including the _Lawrence _(2003) decision – striking down a law criminalizing intimate same-sex conduct – and the more recent Windsor (2013) decision – striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Central to his _Windsor _decision was the idea that states recognizing marriage equality conferred upon same-sex couples a “dignity and status of immense import.”  The language of “dignity” again dripped from Kennedy’s tongue on Tuesday.  Voicing the thoughts of same-sex couples, Kennedy said: “We know we can’t procreate, but we want the other attributes of [marriage] in order to show that we, too, have a dignity that can be fulfilled.”  Later he straightforwardly told Michigan’s lawyer that “[Marriage] is dignity bestowing,” and rejected Bursch’s claim that states do not see themselves as conferring such value.

Although reading the judicial tea leaves based on the brief back-and-forth of an oral argument can be dangerous, overall Tuesday’s exchange was encouraging.  For more than two centuries now, Americans have struggled to keep faith with the words of Thomas Jefferson – the closest thing Americans have to a national creed:  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal . . . .” In fits and starts, Americans have made progress.  In June, my hope and expectation is that we are one step closer.

Mark Totten is a former federal prosecutor and teaches at MSU College of Law.  He was the 2014 Democratic Nominee for Michigan Attorney General and co-authored an amicus brief for the U.S. Supreme Court in this case.

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It’s hard to believe that in 2015, it is still legal in Michigan to fire, evict or deny services to someone simply because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. We may soon be living in a state where same-sex couples can marry on a Saturday, and then be fired on Monday because of who they love. Legislation was just introduced in Lansing to address this problem. We need your help to show our leaders in Lansing that it has our support!

More info --> http://eqmi.us/1AgMGHu

Take action --> http://eqmi.us/2015elcra

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You might soon be able to get married on a Saturday, but still fired on a Monday for being LGBTQ

Our effort to modernize ELCRA continues

It’s hard to believe that in 2015, it is still legal in Michigan to fire, evict or deny services to someone simply because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. We may soon be living in a state where same-sex couples can marry on a Saturday, and then be fired on Monday because of who they love.

All of that can change starting today.

Legislation was just introduced to prohibit discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on sexual orientation and gender identity by modernizing the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA). If signed into law, the update would place LGBTQ Michiganders under the same protections of the ELCRA that already exist for Michiganders on the basis of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight or marital status.

Your voice is needed to make sure this fully inclusive bill ends up on the governor’s desk for signature.

Sign our petition asking your legislators to support the bills because no hardworking Michigander should have to live in fear that they can be fired for reasons that have nothing to do with their qualifications or job performance. And you’re not alone. A majority of people in Michigan agree; in fact most think it’s already illegal.

Let’s push Michigan forward and urge legislators to protect all our state’s residents by updating our civil rights law!

Help us spread the word on social media:

Short link: http://eqmi.us/2015elcra

Hashtag: #elcra4all

Unfortunately, these are not the only bills which impact our community that the legislature in Lansing is discussing. The so-called "Religions Freedom Restoration Act" had its hearing yesterday, and its accompanying discriminatory adoption bills could get a full Senate vote any day now. We must also keep the pressure on to defeat these bills because #RFRAhurts Michigan!

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Equality Michigan's Sommer Foster is at the press conference right now where this year's effort to update the state's anti-discrimination law to include sexual orientation and gender identity is being announced.

More details coming soon!