National
Mich. court rules anti-trans discrimination is illegal, but not anti-gay discrimination
State AG, a lesbian, vows to appeal decision
A judge in Michigan has determined state civil rights law prohibits businesses from discriminating against customers for being transgender, but not on the basis of sexual orientation — a decision the state’s top lawyer on Thursday has vowed to appeal.
In a seven-page decision, Judge Christopher Murray this week ruled case law in Michigan makes clear anti-gay discrimination isn’t covered under the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act, but with no clear precedent on anti-transgender discrimination, the state must defer to U.S. legal jurisprudence.
Although the Michigan Civil Rights Commission has determined anti-LGBTQ discrimination is a form of sex discrimination under state law, Murray reverses the panel with respect to anti-gay and anti-bi discrimination, citing Barbour v. Department of Social Services, a decision from the Michigan Court of Appeals in 1993.
“With respect to whether sexual orientation falls within the meaning of ‘sex’ under the ELCRA, the Court of Appeals has already concluded that it does not,” Murray writes. “Being a decision published after Nov. 1, 1990, Barbour is binding on this court…and must be followed.”
Murray recognizes the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision this year in Bostock v. Clayton County, which found anti-LGBTQ discrimination is a form of sex discrimination, thus illegal in the workplace under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, Murray concludes whether or not that ruling has implications for state law with regard to anti-gay discrimination is “a matter for the Court of Appeals, not this court.”
But with respect to anti-transgender discrimination, Murray reaches a different conclusion and finds “no guiding decision exists on the meaning of a provision within the ELCRA,” therefore he must defer to federal law and the Bostock ruling.
“Following the Bostock Court’s rationale, if defendants determine that a person treated someone who ‘identifies’ with a gender different than the gender that he or she was born as, then that is dissimilar treatment on the basis of sex, and they are entitled to redress that violation through the existing MDCR procedures,” Murray writes. “Nothing in the ELCRA would preclude that action.”
Murray takes note the companies asked him to declare enforcing the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act to prohibit anti-LGBTQ discrimination would be inconsistent with freedom of religion under both the U.S. and Michigan Constitutions, but he declines to make that finding on the basis that the issue “has not been sufficiently briefed to resolve at this juncture.”
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a lesbian, vowed in a statement on Thursday she would appeal the decision to the Michigan Court of Appeals.
“I respectfully disagree with the Michigan Court of Claims on its ruling in this case as it relates to sexual orientation,” Nessel said. “Michigan courts have held that federal precedent is highly persuasive when determining the contours of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, and federal courts across the country – including the U.S. Supreme Court in Bostock v Clayton County – have held that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination.”
Nessel added she intends to argue on behalf of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights “all Michigan residents are entitled to protection under the law – regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation – in our appeal to this decision.”
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit – Rouch World, which operates wedding venues in Southern Michigan and Uprooted Electrolysis in Marquette – are businesses denied services based on religious grounds to customers who were either a same-sex couple or an individual was transitioning their gender identity.
Rouch World declined to host a same-sex wedding in 2019 and Uprooted Electrolysis refused service to a transgender woman. Both companies civil rights faced complaints in state court for anti-LGBTQ discrimination.
Stacie Clayton, chair of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, said in a statement the commission “welcomes” Nessel’s decision to appeal the ruling.
“We are encouraged that the Michigan Court of Claims has ruled the word ‘sex’ in ELCRA encompasses gender identity, but we will continue to argue that the U.S. Supreme Court was right to conclude, as did the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, that ‘sex’ in this context is also inclusive of sexual orientation,” Clayton said. “We are confident that Michigan’s appellate courts will do the same.”
Federal law would be no help to LGBTQ people in Michigan who face discrimination from business as customers. Although the Bostock applies to every federal law that bars sex discrimination, no federal law bars discrimination on the basis of sex in public accommodation, so the ruling doesn’t apply to businesses in this context.
The Equality Act, legislation to expand the prohibition on anti-LGBTQ discrimination under federal civil rights law, would make anti-LGBTQ and sex discrimination in public accommodations illegal and expand the definition of public accommodations under federal law to include retail stores, banks, transportation services and health care services.
h/t LGBTQ Nation
Federal Government
US Census Bureau testing survey on LGBTQ households
Agency proposing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity
The U.S. Census Bureau is seeking public comment on a proposed test of sexual orientation and gender identity questions on the American Community Survey. The test would begin this summer and continue into next year.
The Census Bureau published the request as a Federal Register notice. In its press release the agency noted that the ACS is an ongoing survey that collects detailed housing and socioeconomic data. It allows the Census Bureau to provide timely and relevant housing and socioeconomic statistics, even for low levels of geography.
As part of the process for adding new questions to the ACS, the Census Bureau tests potential questions to evaluate the quality of the data collected.
The Census Bureau proposes testing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity to meet the needs of other federal agencies that have expressed interest in or have identified legal uses for the information, such as enforcing civil rights and equal employment measures.
The test would follow the protocols of the actual ACS — with one person asked to respond to the survey on behalf of the entire household. These particular questions are asked about people 15 years of age or older. Households are invited to respond to the survey online, by paper questionnaire or by phone.
The current Federal Register notice gives the public a final opportunity to provide feedback before the Census Bureau submits its recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget for approval. The public may provide feedback through May 30 online.
The White House
Judy Shepard to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
Nancy Pelosi is also among this year’s honorees
Beloved LGBTQ advocate Judy Shepard is among the 19 honorees who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the U.S., the White House announced on Friday.
The mother of Matthew Shepard, who was killed in 1998 in the country’s most notorious anti-gay hate crime, she co-founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation with her husband Dennis to raise awareness about anti-LGBTQ violence.
The organization runs education, outreach, and advocacy programs, many focused on schools.
In a statement shared via the Human Rights Campaign, Shepard said, “This unexpected honor has been very humbling for me, Dennis, and our family. What makes us proud is knowing our President and our nation share our lifelong commitment to making this world a safer, more loving, more respectful, and more peaceful place for everyone.
“I am grateful to everyone whose love and support for our work through the years has sustained me.
“If I had the power to change one thing, I can only dream of the example that Matt’s life and purpose would have shown, had he lived. This honor reminds the world that his life, and every life, is precious.”
Shepard was instrumental in working with then-President Barack Obama for passage of the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, which was led in the House by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who will also be honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom during the ceremony on Friday.
Also in 2009, Shepard published a memoir, “The Meaning of Matthew: My Son’s Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed,” and was honored with the Black Tie Dinner Elizabeth Birch Equality Award.
“Judy Shepard has been a champion for equality and President Biden’s choice to honor her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a testament to what she’s done to be a force of good in the world,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said in a statement.
“A mother who turned unspeakable grief over the loss of her son into a decades-long fight against anti-LGBTQ+ hatred and violence, Judy continues to make a lasting impact in the lives of the LGBTQ+ community,” she said.
“It is because of her advocacy that the first federal hate crimes legislation became law and that countless life-saving trainings, resources and conversations about equality and acceptance are provided each year by the Matthew Shepard Foundation,” Robinson said. “We are honored that Judy is a member of the HRC family and know that her work to create a more inclusive and just world will only continue.”
Other awardees who will be honored by the White House this year are: Actor Michelle Yeoh, entrepreneur and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Jesuit Catholic priest Gregory Boyle, Assistant House Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), former Labor and Education Secretary and former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), journalist and former daytime talkshow host Phil Donahue, World War II veteran and civil rights activist Medgar Evers (posthumous), former Vice President Al Gore, civil rights activist and lawyer Clarence B. Jones, former Secretary of State and U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), former U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) (posthumous), Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky, educator and activist Opal Lee, astronaut and former director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center Ellen Ochoa, astronomer Jane Rigby, United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero, and Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe (posthumous).
National
United Methodist Church removes 40-year ban on gay clergy
Delegates also voted for other LGBTQ-inclusive measures
The United Methodist Church on Wednesday removed a ban on gay clergy that was in place for more than 40 years, voting to also allow LGBTQ weddings and end prohibitions on the use of United Methodist funds to “promote acceptance of homosexuality.”
Overturning the policy forbidding the church from ordaining “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” effectively formalized a practice that had caused an estimated quarter of U.S. congregations to leave the church.
The New York Times notes additional votes “affirming L.G.B.T.Q. inclusion in the church are expected before the meeting adjourns on Friday.” Wednesday’s measures were passed overwhelmingly and without debate. Delegates met in Charlotte, N.C.
According to the church’s General Council on Finance and Administration, there were 5,424,175 members in the U.S. in 2022 with an estimated global membership approaching 10 million.
The Times notes that other matters of business last week included a “regionalization” plan, which gave autonomy to different regions such that they can establish their own rules on matters including issues of sexuality — about which international factions are likelier to have more conservative views.
Rev. Kipp Nelson of St. Johns’s on the Lake Methodist Church in Miami shared a statement praising the new developments:
“It is a glorious day in the United Methodist Church. As a worldwide denomination, we have now publicly proclaimed the boundless love of God and finally slung open the doors of our church so that all people, no matter their identities or orientations, may pursue the calling of their hearts.
“Truly, all are loved and belong here among us. I am honored to serve as a pastor in the United Methodist Church for such a time as this, for our future is bright and filled with hope. Praise be, praise be.”
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