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6 June 20 • 2019
jn
A
t the time of its passage in
1976, the purpose of the
Michigan Civil Rights Act
(also known as the Elliott-Larsen
Civil Rights Act), was to give all
Michigan citizens,
primarily African
Americans, recourse
through the Michigan
Department of Civil
Rights Enforcement
Division if they
believed they had
been discriminated
against. It was also
equally important to develop edu-
cational programs to help citizens
better understand acts of discrimi-
nation and how to avoid such acts.
Nowhere in the Michigan Civil
Right Act does it say certain groups
or individuals shall be excluded
from protection against discrimi-
nation. The intent of the Michigan
Civil Right Act is to include all cit-
izens.
Article 5 section 29 of the
Michigan Constitution of 1964
created an independent Civil
Right Commission responsible for
oversight, enforcement and mon-
itoring of civil rights in the state
of Michigan. The majority of the
current commissioners believes the
Michigan Civil Rights Act includes
all citizens and citizen groups,
including the LGBT community.
They so stated by resolution this
past year. The LGBT community has
every right as citizens of the state of
Michigan to be protected from dis-
crimination under this act.
To include LGBT community in
the Michigan Civil Rights Act, it
must be amended by the legislature
to include sexual orientation and
gender identity.
For more than a decade, the
majority leadership in both the
Michigan House and Senate have
refused to address the issue of sex-
ual orientation and gender identity
being added to the Michigan Civil
Right Act. They have chosen to sim-
ply not put it on their agenda.
Recently, bills have been once
again introduced in both the House
and Senate to include sexual ori-
entation and gender identity to the
Michigan Civil Rights Act.
This is a public issue that needs
to be addressed. It is time for the
majority leadership in the legisla-
ture to stop saying no to this item
and put the sexual orientation and
gender identity bills on their agen-
da. Start scheduling public hearings
across the state and let the public be
heard. Be they individuals, corpo-
rations, religious leaders, the LGBT
community, educators or special
interest groups, bring them all to the
table.
Recent polls indicate adding sexu-
al orientation and gender identity to
the Michigan Civil Right Act is sup-
ported by an overwhelming major-
ity of Michigan citizens. Public
hearings will prove or disprove this
statement. ■
See related stories on pages 10
and 16.
Mel Larsen, a Republican representative, and
Daisy Elliott, a Democratic representative,
co-sponsored Michigan’
s landmark Michigan
Civil Rights Act, also known as the Elliott-
Larsen Civil Rights Act, in 1976. Larsen is
also a former Michigan Republican Party
chairman.
guest column
Legislative Leaders: It’s Time
To Act on LGBT Protections
Mel Larsen
letters
A Woman of Vision
We at National Council of Jewish
Women, Michigan (NCJW | MI), were
thrilled to see your cover on the June 6
issue. Jackie Victor is a true gift to our
community and, for her many contri-
butions, she is being honored by NCJW
| MI with the Woman of Vision Award
at our annual Women of Vision Benefit
Luncheon on Thursday, Oct. 24, at Adat
Shalom Synagogue. We will also be
honoring Lisa Lis with the Josephine S.
Weiner Community Service Award. Our
keynote speaker will be Dahlia Lithwick,
contributing editor at Newsweek and
editor at Slate.com. We are pleased to
be able to recognize the outstanding
accomplishments of these women.
Jennifer LoPatin
President, National Council of
Jewish Women, Michigan
Jewish Unity
I read the recent letter in the Jewish
News (May 30, page 5) and I didn’
t
know whether to laugh or cry. It started
out as a call for the Jewish people to
unite together, as we should, in order
to fight the evils that are against us
around the world. But the call for unity
gets ruined by the writer railing against
Jewish groups that tend to be more pro-
gressive than he is.
I am a proud member of the
Democratic Party, J Street, Ameinu, If
continued on page 9
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