GRAND RAPIDS, MI – If protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people were included in Michigan’s civil rights law, then Rhonda Bacon thinks she would be a foster grandparent.

Instead, Bacon’s attempt to volunteer as a foster grandparent was rejected.

“They turned me down because my driver license says ‘Richard,’” Bacon said. “It didn’t have anything to do with my education: I’ve got four master’s degrees. It didn’t have anything to do with my ability to deal with children: I have 14 grandchildren and two children of my own. It didn’t have anything to do with my ability to relate to other human beings.”

Bacon was among a handful of speakers at a Michigan Department of Civil Rights hearing this afternoon at Grand Rapids Community College. With funding from the Tides Foundation, the state agency is holding five hearings across the state. The state's Civil Rights Commission expects to get a report on the public comments later this year.

In Grand Rapids, all but one speaker voiced support for adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s anti-discrimination laws.

"I'm not a homophobe or a bigot, but I don't believe that amending the state discrimination policy is the right thing to do," Kevin Rahe said. "I get the feeling it's much more part of an agenda to encourage acceptance of homosexual activity and relationships than ending real discrimination."



Grand Rapids has included sexual orientation and gender identity in a local anti-discrimination ordinance since 1994. Ellen James, chairwoman of the city's Community Relations Commission, said "we believe that we are a leader in this area."

Among comments made by other speakers at this afternoon’s hearing:

“Tolerance and inclusion is good for business,” said Julia Henshaw, a legal assistant for the ACLU of Michigan’s West Michigan regional office. “Michigan must be viewed as open and forward-thinking in order to attract the high quality companies we need. In 2012, it should be against the law to deny someone housing simply because of their sexual orientation. We simply can no longer afford to bury our heads in the sand. Our state is dying.”

“Not everybody here has the same religion as you,” said Sammy Jones-Darling, a gay man. “I want everybody to be equal. It’s what this Constitution calls for. It’s what humans should believe.”

Regina Calcagno, the Department of Civil Rights staffer who facilitated the forum, said the previous three hearings on the issue “have been pretty one-sided,” though a hearing in June in Holland “was a little more contentious."

That hearing attracted more than 200 people, she said. A hearing in Jackson attracted 50 to 60 people while almost nobody showed up to a hearing in Ann Arbor, she said. A fifth and final hearing is next week in Detroit.

Bacon was one of about 20 people at the hearing in Grand Rapids Wednesday. The former Richard Bacon said estrogen treatments for carcinoma changed his body and led him to embrace a female persona.

“(My fiancee and I several years ago) finally decided that me running around presenting myself as a man was not working," Bacon said.

People who did not attend the hearing are invited to email Calcagno first-person narratives of their experiences with discrimination or if they've not experienced a backlash.

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