New Legal Protections for LGBTQ Residents in Michigan

Last week, Michigan legislators amended the state’s civil rights laws to add protections for LGBTQ residents against discrimination.

The Michigan House of Representatives had a vote on March 8 which came to a 64-45 members in favor of passing SB 4, which will revise the state’s Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include “sexual orientation (and) gender identity or expression.” Several Republicans crossed party lines to vote alongside chamber Democrats in order to pass the bill. This comes also after three other GOP House members defected during the lower chamber’s vote last week.

“We’ve waited four decades for this,” says transgender activist Samantha Rogers. “This thing with Elliot-Larsen, it changes so much. Transgender people are just trying to live their lives like everybody else. We are not a threat to anybody.”

The Elliot-Larson Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), passed in 1976, protects Michiganders from discrimination in the workplace, in education settings, housing, and public facilities. Claims of discrimination are handled by the Department of Civil Rights within the state of Michigan, which will investigate allegations and “order remedies appropriate to the findings.”

The Michigan Supreme Court has already ruled at the ELCRA covers sexual orientation, but the law has not yet been revised to include the ruling. Until put into the text of the law, the ruling could still be overturned.

After last week’s vote, the amendment was delivered to Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who is expected to sign the bill on March 16. Once the bill is signed it will prevent anyone from firing, evicting, or otherwise discriminating against someone for their gender or sexuality.

“I’m celebrating trans women who have continuously led the way, despite constant threats to their lives and liberty,” Whitmer writes in a Tweet. “I’m proud that we’re finally in a position to expand the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act to protect LGBTQ Michiganders.”