Michigan Civil Rights Commission seeks input on updating state civil rights act to include LGBTQ community

The Michigan Civil Rights Commission will be hosting a forum in Jackson (MI) on Monday, May 21^st for the purposes of gathering public input on whether or not to update the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA).

Here is part of the language of the notice the Michigan Civil Rights Commission sent out on this matter:

The Department is conducting a social research project objectively examining the impact Michigan’s laws and policies related to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community have, not only on the LGBT community itself but with a particular focus on other  communities, the state and its economy. The Department is specifically concerned with the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA).  The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) – Michigan’s Civil

Rights law – prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations based on religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status. The Act does not offer protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Department is seeking stories from Michigan residents about their experiences with discrimination.  Please consider how amending ELCRA would:

• Impact your community/neighborhood/family/church/school
• Change your life or that of a family member
• Impact/change your business operations/workforce/services
• Affect your perception of others

In short, this project is not about “I support”/“I don’t support” but what you would gain/lose if ELCRA is or is not amended. Please consider sharing your thoughts on the proposed amendments to this law. We are interested in hearing from individuals in favor of and opposed to such changes to the law. 

Besides the public hearing in Jackson (MI) on Monday, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission welcomes e-mail messages telling your story about the benefit of updating the Elliot-Larson Civil Rights Act.

You can send an e-mail to the commission at calcagnor@michigan.gov or to this link, which was created by Unity Michigan and the Michigan ACLU.

It is important to note that if the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act is updated to include the LGBTQ community, then there would be no need to pay anti-discrimination ordinances in each community around the state.