frank-foster-sam-singh.jpg

State Reps. Frank Foster, R-Petoskey, and Sam Singh, D-East Lansing, are lead sponsors on two separate gay anti-discrimination laws.

(Jonathan Oosting | MLive.com)

Update: Gay rights bills likely dead, religious freedom act still up for debate

LANSING, MI — Michigan legislation that would ban discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals remains stuck in committee despite another strong push from business leaders and advocacy groups.

The House Commerce Committee adjourned Wednesday after an hour of public testimony — both for and against — separate proposals that would amend Michigan’s Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act.

“It looks as if today we do not have support for either bill,” state Rep. Frank Foster, R-Petoskey, said as he wrapped up the hearing. “So today, we will not be voting.”

Foster, lead sponsor of a bill that would add "sexual orientation" language to the anti-discrimination law, had earlier told his colleagues that extending anti-discrimination protections could be "a defining moment" for Michigan, and one with profound economic implications.

“Check your politics at the door on this one and do what is right for the state,” he said during his own testimony, acknowledging that his own support may have played a role in his Republican primary election loss in August.

“We are competing in a global market. We are competing against other states that already have this type of legislation, some as far back as the 1970s.”

State Rep. Sam Singh, D-East Lansing, testified in support of his own legislation that would also add "gender identity and expression" protections for transgender residents to the anti-discrimination law.

Singh called the hearing a “historic” step for Michigan and its residents who have waited decades for change. Despite inaction in committee, he left the hearing optimistic that the House could still act by the end of the year.

“Not moving this forward in this session is going to set us back,” said Singh, whose fully-inclusive bill has been embraced by a coalition of large employers pushing the Republican-led Legislature to protect gay and transgender residents.

“Our session is not over. We’ve got two more weeks. My hope is people will find the ability, whether it’s through a discharge or a committee vote. I’m confident that if it was on the House floor, we’d have the 56 votes needed to pass this legislation.”

Foster broke the hearing up into two parts, giving supporters the first half hour to make their case and giving opponents the remaining time.

Allan Gilmour, retired president of Wayne State University and a former executive at Ford Motor Company, said there are business and social costs associated with continued inaction.

“Modernizing Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act is long overdue and necessary if Michigan is to attract and retain talent,” said Gilmour, who is gay and lives with his partner in Oakland County.

“And on an individual basis, nobody should live in fear that they will lose their jobs or injure their careers should they live openly.”

Other business leaders from the Michigan Competitive Workforce Coalition also testified in support of the push for LGBT rights, as did an Episcopalian priest and representatives from the ACLU of Michigan.

ACLU staff attorney Jay Kaplan argued it would be a mistake to omit transgender protections from the legislation, noting that recent federal sex discrimination rulings do little to address the full range of past and potential discrimination.

“The majority of the calls we receive concerning discrimination come from the transgender community who have been fired from a job, denied housing or public accommodation because of who they are,” Kaplan said.

Several opponents of the gay rights legislation questioned the very idea that gay residents face discrimination, and others raised fears that the proposals could limit the religious liberty of business owners.

House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, has proposed a Religious Freedom Restoration Act to run alongside any Elliott-Larsen update, but some opponents have said it does not go far enough.

Anti-discrimination laws in other states “are being used to bully and silence people acting on their religious convictions,” said Lansing attorney David Kallman.

Republican National Committeeman Dave Agema, who has come under fire for anti-gay comments in the past, had planned to testify against the legislation but was one of several speakers who did not get the opportunity because of time constraints.

Stacey Swimp, a religious activist from Saginaw who later left the building with Agema, testified he was offended that “homosexual allegations of gay rights” have been compared to the historic struggle of black Americans.

Foster agreed that there are differences between the two civil rights efforts but, in a tense moment, he challenged Swimp’s suggestion that gay residents have not faced significant discrimination.

“If you don’t think that the LGBT community has been discriminated against, been drug behind cars, been hung up by their necks until they are are dead, denied housing and denied commerce opportunities, then you’re just not looking very far,” Foster said.

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.