Supporters of a ballot initiative to protect LGBT Michigan residents from discrimination say they’ll begin collecting signatures as soon as this weekend following initial approval from a state board.

Michigan’s Board of State Canvassers voted to approve summary language and form of an initiative backed by Fair and Equal Michigan Tuesday, a procedural step that clears the group to begin printing and circulating petitions for signature gathering.

The board doesn’t weigh in on the substance of initiatives - members review a petition’s language to determine whether it’s factual and that the summary accurately reflects what’s on the petition.

Launched earlier this month, the effort would re-define the word “sex” in Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, effectively extending those protections to LGBT people. It would also define “religion” to include the religious beliefs of an individual.

“Today was an important step in the 37 years we’ve all been waiting to be able to get to this point,” Trevor Thomas, co-chair of Fair and Equal Michigan, said following the vote. “We will start immediately this week distributing signatures. We’re so fortunate that the LGBTQ community is fired up.”

The group has until May 27 to collect 340,047 valid petition signatures in order to be eligible for statewide ballot in fall 2020. Because the petition would amend state statute, the legislature would have 40 days to decide whether to adopt the measure before it goes to the ballot if the group obtains enough signatures.

Thomas said Fair and Equal Michigan plans to use a combination of paid and volunteer petitioners to hit the requirements in time.

The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which currently protects people from discrimination based on religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status.

The act protects people from housing, employment and other forms of discrimination.

The initiative has backing from several businesses, including DTE Energy, Consumers Energy, The Whirlpool Corporation and Herman Miller.

It isn’t the first time an Elliott-Larsen expansion has been tried. In 2014, a Republican, former Rep. Frank Foster, introduced a bill to add sexual orientation to the list of protected groups, but the effort was unsuccessful.

The next year, now-Attorney General Dana Nessel launched a ballot initiative that sought to amend the constitution to include gay rights. That garnered some bipartisan support, but ultimately proved divisive among LGBT activists who preferred a legislative route, and ultimately folded due to funding issues.

Democratic lawmakers renewed their legislative push to include LGBT protections in the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act last year, although Republican lawmakers have said they’re not planning to take up the issue.

The Michigan Civil Rights Commission, which investigates claims of discrimination against the groups protected by the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, has authorized investigations into LGBT discrimination by interpreting the law’s protection based on “sex” to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

Read the approved petition summary:

An initiation of legislation to amend Section 103 of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, Public Act 453 of 1976, MCL 37.2103. The Act prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, public service, and educational institutions because of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status. Section 104 of the Act does not define “sex” or “religion.” If enacted, the proposed initiated law would for purposes of the Act to define “sex” as including gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression; and would define “religion” as including the religious beliefs of an individual.

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