State Dems renew their efforts for LGBT

LANSING — Democrats in the Legislature are hoping to capitalize on the attention being given to marriage rights for same-sex partners by reintroducing a bill to extend even more rights to the LGBT community in Michigan.

A hearing was held last year to expand the state's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in hiring and housing, to the LGBT community, but no vote was taken.

Sen. Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor, said she hopes this year will be different.

"The timing is very important with the U.S. Supreme Court debating same-sex marriage and our Republican colleagues taking up a bill that is institutionalizing discrimination," she said. "We're pretty enthusiastic about having a hearing."

The Senate Judiciary committee held a hearing — but no vote — Tuesday on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which would give businesses a legal defense if they faced a lawsuit by the state for refusing service to someone who violates their religious beliefs. Gov. Rick Snyder has promised to veto such a bill if it reaches his desk — unless it's accompanied by an expansion of the Elliott-Larsen law.

"This (RFRA) debate needs to continue," despite Snyder's threatened veto, said state Sen. Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, the sponsor of the RFRA legislation.

Democratic legislators were joined Wednesday by several people with ties to the transgender community, who called on the Legislature to simply extend the same rights to them as they do to everyone else in Michigan.

"The job of the lawmakers in Michigan is to ensure that my son is given the same liberties that lawmakers are given and their children are given," said Lisa Goyette, an Orion Township mother of a transgender son. "It's not a mental illness, and it's not a choice, and it's not a choice that anyone would willingly want.

"It's a tough road. Transgender individuals in this state have no protections and that's wrong."

Bre Campbell, a transgender woman from Detroit, said an application she filled out for a rental home was rejected after the landlord discovered she is transgender. She tried to seek legal recourse, but said she realized after a year that Michigan doesn't have legal protections for the LGBT community.

"These laws really harm people like me," she said. "You have to make sure we have fair employment and housing."

A broad coalition of businesses has supported the Elliott-Larsen expansion. But leadership in both the Republican-controlled House and Senate have said that the expansion of the law is not a priority for them.

Contact Kathleen Gray: 517-372-8661, kgray99@freepress.com, or on Twitter @michpoligal.