Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Mich. LGBT groups launch campaign to amend law
by Charlsie Dewey
2011-10-19

This article shared 3675 times since Wed Oct 19, 2011
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Last week, in honor of National Coming Out Day, LGBT advocacy groups in Michigan launched "Don't Change Yourself. Change the Law," a campaign that will focus on amending the state's nondiscrimination law to include LGBT citizens.

Many allies and even members of the LGBT community in Michigan are unaware that individuals can still lose their jobs based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. The new campaign hopes that an increased awareness will lead to greater pressure on House Speaker Jase Bolger and the Michigan Legislature to amend the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act.

Jon Hoadley, the Unity Michigan Coalition director, pointed out that in Michigan more than 60 percent of people believe that no one should lose his or her job based on sexuality. Hoadley also noted that with Michigan's unemployment rate of 10.9 percent, it is especially timely to enhance the state's nondiscrimination law to ensure that everyone is judged solely on their performance and qualifications. Hoadley believes that the support for an amendment is there and that an increased vocalization of that support will lead to legislative change.

"The campaign is a project of the Unity Michigan Coalition," Hoadley said. "There have been a lot of really good groups in Michigan that have been working on gay and transgender issues for a while, but they came together over the last year and said, 'We really want to kick this up into high gear. How do we work together to tackle some really big projects?' We decided to go all in and have a coalition, share expenses, work efficiently and tackle these really big projects. We chose to work [ first ] on non-discrimination issues."

The timing could not be better given that the day before the campaign launched state Rep. Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills, proposed a bill that would forbid civil-rights protections that go beyond Michigan's current law—in effect, rolling back protections that at least 18 local governments have enacted dealing with sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill would also prohibit school districts and state agencies from offering enhanced protections.

"I think that the current political climate is a wake-up call for anyone who wants to say that, in Michigan, discrimination doesn't happen," Hoadley said. "If that's the case, then why do opponents of equality feel the need to introduce legislation that would prohibit us from creating a solution? What is clear, based on the responses to the polling that we've seen, is that Michigan wants to be a fair and welcoming state—and if our leaders are out of touch, this issue might be that wake-up call that gets them reconnected to the people that put them in office in the first place."

Although the issue is a serious one, the organizers of the campaign wanted to find a fun way to raise awareness and promote conversation in the workplace about LGBT employment discrimination, so they came up with the "Gay/Not Gay" poster. The poster provides humorous tips on how LGBT people can blend in better at the workplace, including appropriate screensavers and grooming and fashion tips.

"We wanted to illustrate the fact that it is outrageous that an employer can make a decision on whether or not you should keep your job based on something as irrelevant as whether they think someone is gay or not gay."

For more information on the Unity Michigan Coalition visit, www.unitymichigan.org . Also see www.dontchangeyourself.com; the petition page is www.dontchangeyourself.com/change-the-law.


This article shared 3675 times since Wed Oct 19, 2011
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Thailand parliament passes landmark marriage bill 2024-03-27
- On March 27, Thailand's parliament approved a marriage-equality bill by an overwhelmingly large margin—a landmark step that moves one of Asia's most liberal countries closer to legalizing same-sex unions, media ...


Gay News

Wyoming is latest state to ban gender-affirming care for minors 2024-03-24
- On March 22, Wyoming became the latest state to prohibit gender-affirming care for minors, The Hill noted. In doing so, it joined 23 other states that passed laws restricting or banning the treatment. Legislators in both ...


Gay News

Family of 2004 murder victim holds event in Lake View; reward announced 2024-03-24
- The year 2004, for the family and friends of Lake View resident Kevin Clewer, will forever be marked by tragedy. On March 24 of that year, Clewer, 31, was found in his apartment at 3444 N. Elaine Pl.; he was the ...


Gay News

No charges filed in Nex Benedict fight; campaigns call for Walters' removal 2024-03-22
- In Oklahoma, Tulsa County District Attorney Stephen Kunzweiler announced that no charges will be filed in connection with the fight that happened the day before transgender, nonbinary high school student Nex Benedict died by suicide, NBC ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Va. marriage bill, AARP, online counseling, Idaho items, late activist 2024-03-21
- Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed bills protecting same-sex marriages at a state level, surprising some, WRIC reported. The bills—passed out of both chambers along mostly party lines—will require clerks ...


Gay News

WORLD Leaked messages, Panama action, author dies at 32, Japan court, out athletes 2024-03-15
- Hundreds of messages from an internal chat board for an international group of transgender health professionals were leaked in a report and framed as revealing serious health risks associated with gender-affirming care, including cancer, according to ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Missouri measure, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, judge, Texas schools 2024-03-15
- In Missouri, a newly proposed law could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they're found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning, CNN noted. ...


Gay News

College athletes sue NCAA over transgender policies 2024-03-15
- Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines was among a group of college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on March 14, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing trans swimmer Lia Thomas ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ people attacked by mobs in Greece 2024-03-14
- Just weeks after a landmark law granted same-sex couples in Greece the right to marry, nearly 200 people dressed in black chased a transgender couple through the town square in Thessaloniki, the country's "second city" and ...


Gay News

Florida settles 'Don't Say Gay' lawsuit 2024-03-11
- On March 11, the state of Florida settled a multi-year lawsuit against the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law, which limits how LGBTQ+ topics can be discussed and presented in schools, The Hill reported. The settlement agreement ...


Gay News

"X" gender marker now available on Illinois driver's licenses and state ID cards 2024-03-11
- After several years of preparation, the Illinois Secretary of State's office is has been making the X gender designation available for non-binary residents and others not utilizing the M or F designations, since the beginning of ...


Gay News

WORLD Israeli reservist, man detained, Ghana bill, medic denied honor 2024-03-08
- Hanania Ben-Shimon—the gay Israel Defense Forces reservist who was wounded as he killed one of the terrorists in the attack at the A-Za'ayem checkpoint near Ma'ale Adumim recently—published a post in which he pleaded that his ...


Gay News

Court blocks Texas attorney general's demand for PFLAG data 2024-03-01
- From a press release: AUSTIN, Texas—Travis County District Court Judge Maria Cantú Hexel on March 1 blocked the latest effort by the Texas Attorney General's Office to persecute Texas families with transgender youth, temporarily haltin ...


Gay News

WORLD Canadian politics, Australian murders, Finnish study, 'Anatomy' 2024-03-01
- Canadian conservatives are divided over an anti-trans policy that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith handed down in her province, The Guardian reported. The policy includes a ban on hormonal treatment, puberty ...


Gay News

Appeals court allows Ind. ban on gender-affirming care for minors 2024-03-01
- On Feb. 27, a federal appeals court in Chicago allowed Indiana's ban on gender-affirming care to go into effect, removing a temporary injunction that U.S. District Court Judge James Patrick Hanlon issued last year, ABC News ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS






Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.