Last week, Governor Snyder pretended that he’s suddenly concerned with adding protections for LGBT folks to our state’s civil rights law, the Elliott-Larsen Act. As I have already said, this is a sham. Governor Snyder’s own words show how squishy his “support” is: “I’m encouraging them to say there’s been a lot of dialog and discussion on this. It’s been […]

Yesterday at the Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder did an about-face on his position regarding civil rights for members of the LGBT community. His actions or, rather, lack of actions on behalf of the LGBT community are well-known so the abrupt change is cause for considerable skepticism. Snyder spelled out his new-found interest in LGBT […]

Many of us in the progressive arena advocate passionately for LGBT civil rights. And right we should; it is literally the civil rights struggle of our time. Interestingly and unfortunately, LGBT rights have become mainly synonymous with civil rights for gay and lesbian men and women. Bisexuals like myself often aren’t taken seriously by straight or queer people and we […]

Why does our state lag behind Kansas and West Virginia?

Yesterday a federal judge overturned Oregon’s gay marriage ban. Today, an announcement is expected in a similar case in Pennsylvania. (UPDATE: Indeed, the PA judge ruled the ban unconstitutional). Equality is spreading, and we should celebrate.

At the same time, however, a vote last night in Saginaw’s city council shows how far we in Michigan still have to come, as the city council decided not to protect the city’s gay and transgender population from discrimination in employment and public accommodations. Advocates have been bringing local non-discrimination ordinances to cities across Michigan because the state still fails to provide protection from employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Last year, Governor Snyder was asked about revising Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to extend coverage to members of the LGBT community. The fact that it currently doesn’t means that people like me can be fired from our jobs simply because we are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Governor Snyder’s response was, in effect, “it’s not on my agenda” and […]

After mounting what can only be called a lackluster and embarrassing defense of Michigan’s bigoted ban on same-sex marriage last month, Attorney General Bill Schuette was handed a stunning defeat as the federal judge overseeing the case struck down the ban as unconstitutional. Schuette then appealed the ruling and asked for the appeals court to meet “en banc” to rule […]

Now let’s just call it “marriage” THIS is fantastic news: Federal Judge Timothy Black says he will issue a ruling April 14 striking down Ohio’s gay marriage ban passed by voters in 2004. Attorney Al Gerhardstein, representing plaintiffs in a lawsuit about birth certificates, amended his request to ask Black to declare all aspects of Ohio’s gay marriage ban unconstitutional. […]

This shall not deter our fight An Ypsilanti Township woman who was married during the 24-hour window when same-sex marriage was legal in Michigan a week and a half ago was assaulted on Monday, the victim of an anti-gay hate crime. The day of unbounded joy was, apparently, a catalyst for brimming hatred to overflow into the tragically violent attack. […]

Hallelujah! Photo by Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog The nearly 300 same-sex couples who were married last Saturday in Michigan will have their marriages recognized by the federal government. The Snyder administration has said that they will NOT recognize them or give the couples the benefits afforded heterosexual married couples even though they believe the marriages are legal. The […]

We shall know you by the company that you keep As Michigan Attorney General and 2018 gubernatorial candidate Bill Schuette continues his crusade to deny gay and lesbian couples their civil rights and equality under state law, he finds himself with interesting company. It turns out the white nationalist Kyle Bristow has filed an amicus brief (pdf) in support of […]

Pretzel logic at its finest This afternoon Governor Snyder acknowledged that the nearly 300 same-sex marriages that were performed last Saturday are legal. He then said his administration won’t recognize them. With respect to the marriages, we believe those are legal and valid marriages. The stay being issued makes it more complicated. Because of the stay, we won’t recognize the […]