Today is great day for Michigan. In a 5-2 decision, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the word "sex" in existing state civil rights legislation includes sexual orientation, protecting the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination. This is a win for our community & a win for civil rights. Not only will this ruling provide needed protections, but it further establishes that LGBTQ+ people aren't less than & are deserving of rights, decency & respect. This is a historic day. To all of the LGBTQ+ young people: Know that you are worthy of love, opportunity, & protection & are equal under the law.
Despite this win, there is still more work to be done. We hope that the Michigan Legislature will still work to explicitly include gender identity & sexual orientation in the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to protect us from the potential of an unfriendly court in the future who could attempt to overturn this ruling. We also hope that the Equality Act will be brought up for a vote & pass the U.S. Senate, to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination all across our nation, rather than the patchwork of state laws & rulings where LGBTQ+ rights can be different depending on what State or even zip-code we drive through.
We celebrate today's ruling & look forward to the work ahead.