Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term ...
) persons in the
U.S. state of
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...
enjoy the same rights as non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Michigan under the US Supreme Court case Lawrence v. Texas, although the state legislature has not repealed its sodomy law. Same-sex marriage is legal. Discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity is unlawful since July 2022, was re-affirmed by the
Michigan Supreme Court
The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the sta ...
- under and by a 1976 statewide law, that explicitly bans discrimination "on the basis of sex". The Michigan Civil Rights Commission have also ensured that members of the LGBT community are not discriminated against and are protected in the eyes of the law since 2018 and also legally upheld by the
Michigan Supreme Court
The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the sta ...
in 2022. In March 2023, a bill passed the
Michigan Legislature
The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution ...
by a majority vote - to formally codify both "sexual orientation and gender identity" anti-discrimination protections embedded within Michigan legislation. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the bill on March 16, 2023.
Michigan is home to a vibrant LGBT community.
East Lansing
East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...
and
Ann Arbor
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
were the first cities in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
to pass LGBT discrimination protections, doing so in 1972. Pride parades have been held in the state's most populous city,
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
, since 1986, and today attract thousands of people. While a majority of Michiganders support same-sex marriage,
the formerly Republican-controlled Legislature has mostly ignored LGBT-related legislation, and as such progress had been slow (and had thus mostly come from the courts and local municipalities). In July 2023, Michigan officially banned conversion therapy state-wide by legislation.
Legality of same-sex sexual activity
![Equality Michigan Logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Equality_Michigan_Logo.svg)
Sexual acts between persons of the same sex are legal in Michigan. They had been criminalized until the state's
sodomy laws, which applied to both
homosexuals
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...
and
heterosexuals, were invalidated in 2003 by the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
's decision in ''
Lawrence v. Texas
''Lawrence v. Texas'', 539 U.S. 558 (2003), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that most sanctions of criminal punishment for consensual, adult non- procreative sexual activity (commonly referred to as sod ...
''. However, Michigan has not yet legislatively repealed its sodomy law.
Recognition of same-sex relationships
In 2004, voters approved a constitutional amendment,
Michigan Proposal 04-2, that banned
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
and
civil union
A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...
s in the state. It passed with 58.6% of the vote.
Same-sex marriage
On January 23, 2012, a lesbian couple filed a lawsuit, ''
DeBoer v. Snyder
''DeBoer v. Snyder'' is a lawsuit that was filed by April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse on January 23, 2012 in federal district court, challenging Michigan's ban on adoption by same-sex couples so they can jointly adopt their children. In August 2012, J ...
'' in
, challenging the state's ban on adoption by same-sex couples in order to jointly adopt their children. On March 21, 2014, U.S. District Judge
Bernard Friedman
Bernard Friedman (1896 – 1984) was a South African surgeon, politician, author, and businessman who co-founded the anti-apartheid Progressive Party.
Biography Education, Medical Training and Role in WW2
He was educated at Pretoria Boys ...
ruled the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. Attorney General
Bill Schuette
William Duncan Schuette ( ; born October 13, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd attorney general of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. He was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Senate in 1990 and for Governor of Mi ...
filed for an emergency stay of his ruling with the
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
* Eastern District of Kentucky
* Western District of K ...
. On Saturday, March 22, 2014, four of Michigan's 83 county clerks opened their offices for special hours and issued more than 300 marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. Later that day, the Sixth Circuit stayed Judge Friedman's order until March 26. On March 25, 2014, the Sixth Circuit stayed the ruling indefinitely. On March 28, 2014, U.S. Attorney General
Eric Holder
Eric Himpton Holder Jr. (born January 21, 1951) is an American lawyer who served as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States from 2009 to 2015. Holder, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama, was the first African America ...
announced the Federal Government will recognize the same-sex marriages performed on March 22.
On November 6, 2014, the Sixth Circuit reversed the lower court's ruling and upheld Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage. On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in ''
Obergefell v. Hodges
''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark LGBT rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protect ...
'' that same-sex couples have a nationwide right to marry, legalizing
same-sex marriage in the United States
The availability of legally recognized same-sex marriage in the United States expanded from one state (Massachusetts) in 2004 to all fifty states in 2015 through various court rulings, state legislation, and direct popular votes. States each ...
, and Michigan.
Domestic partnerships
![Michigan counties and cities with domestic partnerships](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Michigan_counties_and_cities_with_domestic_partnerships.svg)
The
Michigan Supreme Court
The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the sta ...
ruled that the constitutional amendment forbidding recognition of same-sex relationships meant that public employers in Michigan could not legally grant
domestic partnership
A domestic partnership is a legal relationship, usually between couples, who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partnerships receive benefits that guarantee r ...
benefits to their employees. A law in effect since December 2011 banned most public employers, though not colleges and universities, from offering health benefits to the domestic partners of their employees. It did not extend to workers whose benefits are established by the Michigan Civil Service Commission. On June 28, 2013, U.S. District Judge
David M. Lawson
David M. Lawson (born January 11, 1951) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Education and career
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Lawson graduated from Brother Rice High ...
issued a preliminary injunction blocking the state from enforcing its law banning local governments and school districts from offering health benefits to their employees' domestic partners. He made that injunction permanent on November 12, 2014, when he ruled in ''Bassett v. Snyder'' that Michigan's restrictions on domestic partnership benefits were not related to a legitimate government purpose. He distinguished his ruling from the Sixth Circuit's ruling in ''DeBoer'': "It is one thing to say
s in ''DeBoer''that states may cleave to the traditional definition of marriage as a means of encouraging biologically complementary couples to stay together and raise the offspring they produce.... It is quite another to say that a state may adopt a narrow definition of family, and pass laws that penalize those unions and households that do not conform."
Adoption and parenting
In July 2023, the
Michigan Supreme Court
The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the sta ...
made an official ruling that fully guarantees legal parental rights, responsibilities and obligations for same-sex couples who have children or a child - even before same-sex marriage went into effect known a retrospective policy.
Michigan has no statutory ban on same-sex couples adopting, and no Michigan state court has ever interpreted Michigan's statute as prohibiting such adoptions. However, at least one other state court has ruled that unmarried individuals may not jointly petition to adopt.
Two Michigan lesbians, who are raising three children adopted by only one of them, filed a lawsuit known as ''
DeBoer v. Snyder
''DeBoer v. Snyder'' is a lawsuit that was filed by April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse on January 23, 2012 in federal district court, challenging Michigan's ban on adoption by same-sex couples so they can jointly adopt their children. In August 2012, J ...
'' in federal court in January 2012 seeking to have the state's ban on adoption by same-sex couples overturned. and in September amended that suit to challenge the state's ban on same-sex marriage as well.
In December 2012, the
Michigan Court of Appeals
The Michigan Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court of the state of Michigan. It was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1963, and commenced operations in 1965. Its opinions are reported both in an official publication of ...
, an intermediate-level court, ruled in ''Usitalo v. Landon'' that the state's courts have jurisdiction to grant second-parent adoptions by same-sex couples.
Following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling striking down Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage, Michigan courts have been granting adoption rights to same-sex couples.
In September 2019, a
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
within Michigan allowed discrimination against LGBT individuals adopting children within adoption agencies, on the technical legal grounds of "fundamental religious beliefs and freedoms". As with all court cases they are subject to
appeal
In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...
in the future.
Discrimination protections
In October 2023, insurance companies and corporations within Michigan are explicitly banned from discriminating against individuals on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity - under a bill that passed both houses of the
Michigan Legislature
The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution ...
. The
Governor of Michigan
The governor of Michigan is the head of state, head of government, and chief executive of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the stat ...
signed the bill into law.
In August 2023, a Michigan fruit and orchard market farmer who opposed same-sex marriage won a court case officially "based on legal precedent". Since 2023, LGBT people are explicitly included within Michigan's ''
Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act
The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, or Public Act 453 of 1976, prohibits discrimination in Michigan on the basis of "religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status" in employment, housing, ed ...
''.
As early as the 1973 committee hearing on the ''Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act'', members of the
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term ...
community in Michigan sought to be included in the law. However, actual legislation to do so was not introduced until 2005 when Michigan's first openly LGBT state legislator,
Chris Kolb, included it with two other pro-LGBT bills, none of which passed. Since Kolb's 2005 legislation, a number of additional bills have been introduced to add protections for the LGBT community.
In June 2023, an LGBTQ+ Commission was established within Michigan - by the
Governor of Michigan
The governor of Michigan is the head of state, head of government, and chief executive of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the stat ...
.
On December 23, 2003, Governor
Jennifer Granholm
Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is a Canadian-American lawyer, educator, author, political commentator, and politician serving as the 16th United States secretary of energy since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she pre ...
issued an
executive order
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...
prohibiting employment discrimination state-level
public sector
The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, infra ...
employment on the basis of sexual orientation. The order only covers employees of the state of Michigan and does not cover public sector employees of county, school, or local-level governments. On November 22, 2007, Governor Jennifer Granholm extended her executive order to include gender identity. This executive order was kept under Governor
Rick Snyder
Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Snyder previ ...
.
On March 14, 2013, the
Michigan Senate
The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...
passed, by a 37–0 vote, an emergency harbor dredging funding bill that made private marinas ineligible for a new loan program if they discriminate based on sexual orientation. On March 20, 2013, the
Michigan House of Representatives
The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...
passed the bill by a vote of 106–4. On March 27, 2013, Governor
Rick Snyder
Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Snyder previ ...
signed an emergency harbor dredging funding bill that made private marinas ineligible for a new loan program if they discriminate based on sexual orientation.
In January 2019, Governor
Gretchen Whitmer
Gretchen Esther Whitmer (born August 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 49th governor of Michigan since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2001 to 2006 a ...
issued an
executive order
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...
prohibiting discrimination on the basis of both
sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
and
gender identity
Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...
in all areas of state government employment, including by employers receiving contracts and in grants from the state.
In March 2023, a bill passed the
Michigan Legislature
The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution ...
by a majority vote - to formally codify both "sexual orientation and gender identity" anti-discrimination protections embedded within Michigan legislation. The bill was signed into law by Governor
Gretchen Whitmer
Gretchen Esther Whitmer (born August 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 49th governor of Michigan since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2001 to 2006 a ...
on March 8, 2023.
2018 Civil Rights Commission decision
In September 2017, after the Legislature had voted 11 times to reject protecting LGBT people from discrimination, LGBT activists asked the Michigan Civil Rights Commission to declare sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination a form of sex discrimination and as such outlaw it under the ''Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act''.
On May 21, 2018, the Commission interpreted the ''Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act'' as banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity through the category of sex. The Commission voted 5–0 to interpret existing anti-discrimination laws as including both categories. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights began processing complaints of discrimination on May 22. This decision effectively means that LGBT discrimination is now illegal under state law. The decision was hailed by human rights group, but denounced by conservative groups.
Michigan Attorney General
The Attorney General of the State of Michigan is the fourth-ranking official in the U.S. state of Michigan. The officeholder is elected statewide in the November general election alongside the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, m ...
Bill Schuette
William Duncan Schuette ( ; born October 13, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd attorney general of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. He was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Senate in 1990 and for Governor of Mi ...
hit back at the decision, accusing the Commission of overstepping its authority. In July 2018, Schuette said that the decision is "invalid because it conflicts with the original intent of the Legislature as expressed in the plain language of the state's civil rights law". The Commission subsequently reiterated its support for the decision, and the Department of Civil Rights announced that it would continue to investigate discrimination complaints based on sexual orientation and gender identity. "The Michigan Civil Rights Commission is an independent, constitutionally created and established body," Agustin V. Arbulu, director of the Department of Civil Rights, said. "The Commission is not bound by the opinion of the Attorney General. The only recourse is for the courts to determine if issuing the interpretive statement was within the scope of the commission's authority, and that is the appropriate venue for resolving this issue." The ''
Detroit Free Press
The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...
'' denounced Schuette for the opinion, calling it a "shameful display of bigotry", also condemning Schuette for his association with President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, who had endorsed him for that year's
gubernatorial election
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
, which Schuette lost to Democrat
Gretchen Whitmer
Gretchen Esther Whitmer (born August 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 49th governor of Michigan since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2001 to 2006 a ...
.
''EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes''
On March 7, 2018, the
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
* Eastern District of Kentucky
* Western District of ...
(covering
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
, Michigan,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
and
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
) ruled that Title VII of the ''Civil Rights Act of 1964'' prohibits employment discrimination against transgender people under the category of sex. It also ruled that employers may not use the ''Religious Freedom Restoration Act'' to justify discrimination against LGBT people. Aimee Stephens, a transgender woman, began working for a funeral home and presented as male. In 2013, she told her boss that she was transgender and planned to transition. She was promptly fired by her boss who said that "gender transition violat
sGod's commands because a person's sex is an immutable God-given gift." With this decision, discrimination in the workplace based on gender identity is now banned in Michigan.
2020 Michigan business court ruling
In December 2020, a court ruling legally allowed businesses within
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...
to discriminate against LGBT individuals. Michigan Attorney General
Dana Nessel is appealing the court's ruling.
Over fifty local municipalities have local human rights ordinances which prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity in employment and housing.
Ingham,
Washtenaw, and
Wayne counties also prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in government employment.
Holland, Michigan
Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River (formerly known locally as the Black River). ...
passed on August 19, 2020 a Non-Discrimination ordinance that includes protections against discrimination for people based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation in the areas of employment, housing, and public accommodation.
Hate crime law
Since 2009, US-wide federal law explicitly includes sexual orientation and gender identity, under the Obama-era "
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is a landmark United States federal law, passed on October 22, 2009, and signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009, as a rider to the National Defense Auth ...
" (imbedded within the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (, , 123 Stat. 2190.) is a law in the United States signed by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009. As a bill it was H.R. 2647 in the 111th Congress. The overall purpose of the la ...
legislation fully implemented).
Since 1992, sexual orientation has been recognized for data collection about
hate crime
A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...
s in Michigan.
In August 2021, a court in Michigan declared that
gender identity
Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...
is implicitly included within the 1992 hate crime laws of Michigan - under the “gender” interpretation.
In June 2023, the
Michigan House of Representatives
The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...
passed hate crime bills package - that explicitly includes and updates both "sexual orientation and gender identity". The
Michigan Senate
The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...
is yet to vote on the bills package.
Conversion therapy
In June 2019,
Huntington Woods City Commission passed an ordinance, in a unanimous 5–0 vote, banning conversion therapy in a first reading. A year later in July 2020, the
Madison Heights City Council unanimously approved the amendment to the city's ordinance on minors upon its second reading, effectively prohibiting the practice within the city. Conversion therapy in the community is ineffective, causes suicide and is even traumatizing for LGBT individuals. In August 2020, the Michigan City of
Royal Oak
The Royal Oak is the English oak tree within which the future King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House. C ...
also passed an
ordinance
Ordinance may refer to:
Law
* Ordinance (Belgium), a law adopted by the Brussels Parliament or the Common Community Commission
* Ordinance (India), a temporary law promulgated by the President of India on recommendation of the Union Cabinet
* ...
that banned conversion therapy on minors - explicitly with up to 90 days jail or imprisonment and a $500 fine.
Michigan executive order
In June 2021, the
Governor of Michigan
The governor of Michigan is the head of state, head of government, and chief executive of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the stat ...
Gretchen Whitmer
Gretchen Esther Whitmer (born August 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 49th governor of Michigan since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2001 to 2006 a ...
signed an
executive order
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...
that bans statewide taxpayers dollars or funding going towards
conversion therapy
Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and cli ...
on minors. Some cities and counties of Michigan already legally ban conversion therapy by local ordinances.
Michigan legislation
In June 2023, both houses of the
Michigan Legislature
The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution ...
passed a bill to formally implement a ban on conversion therapy practices permanently. The
Governor of Michigan
The governor of Michigan is the head of state, head of government, and chief executive of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the stat ...
officially signed the bill into law in July 2023.
Gender identity and expression
Birth certificates
On June 30, 2021 a 1978 law and policy within Michigan requiring
sexual reassignment surgery
Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...
- to change sex on an individual's
birth certificate
A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuin ...
was formally declared unconstitutional by the courts. Individuals since June 30, 2021 can formally change sex without
sexual reassignment surgery
Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...
- similar to an individual changing sex on a drivers licence. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel asked the attorney general in February to examine the constitutionality of the 1978 law that requires a written statement from a physician confirming that "gender-confirmation surgery" has been completed.
Driver's licenses
In November 2019, Michigan implemented a new government software system to change an individual's gender or sex on drivers licenses and I.D.s within the state - by both a signed
statutory declaration and a
fee
A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in contra ...
. In January 2020, plans were announced to begin offering an "X" marker on driver licenses at an unspecified future date. In November 2021, the Secretary of State said the option would be available "soon".
Transition in childhood
On October 11, 2022, House Bill 6454 was introduced in the state legislature. If the bill passes, any parent or physician who "consents to, obtains, or assists with a gender transition procedure for a child" will face life in prison for the felony of child abuse in the first degree.
Respecting individual's pronouns
In September 2023, the
Michigan Supreme Court
The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the sta ...
announced a case decision on "respecting an individual's pronouns" for judges.
/ref>
Public opinion
A 2017 Public Religion Research Institute
The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) is an American nonprofit, nonpartisan research and education organization that conducts public opinion polls on a variety of topics, specializing in the quantitative and qualitative study of political ...
poll found that 63% of Michigan residents supported same-sex marriage, while 29% were opposed and 8% were unsure. Additionally, 70% supported an anti-discrimination law covering sexual orientation and gender identity. 22% were opposed. The PRRI also found that 62% were against allowing public businesses to refuse to serve LGBT people due to religious beliefs, while 31% supported such religiously-based refusals.
Summary table
See also
* Politics of Michigan
The politics of Michigan, a competitive state that leans Democratic in presidential elections, are divided. Michigan is considered part of the Democrats' " Blue Wall." Governors since the 1970s have alternated between the two parties, and state ...
* LGBT history in Michigan
1700s
From 1660 to 1763, Michigan was part of the Royal Province of New France, which included France's laws making sodomy a capital offense. In 1763, Michigan was transferred to Great Britain's Indian Reserve and adopted British buggery statute ...
* LGBT rights in the United States
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in the United States are among the most socially, culturally, and legally permissive and advanced in the world, with public opinion and jurisprudence on the issue changing significantly si ...
* Rights and responsibilities of marriages in the United States According to the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), there are 1,138 statutory provisions in which marital status is a factor in determining benefits, rights, and privileges. These rights were a key issue in the debate over feder ...
* Law of Michigan
The law of Michigan consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory and case law. The '' Michigan Compiled Laws'' form the general statutory law.
Sources
The Constitution of Michigan is the foremost source of state l ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lgbt Rights in Michigan