24 | JUNE 25 • 2020
Jews in the D
continued from page 20
against gay and transgender
individuals. The U.S. House of
Representatives has passed the
Equality Act to ensure their
rights. However, Kaplan says
that Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell has kept it
from consideration in the Senate
and President Trump has prom-
ised to veto it if passed.
Michigan is one of the states
without legislation to protect
gay and transgender individuals
from discrimination. The Elliott-
Larsen Civil Rights Act, passed
in 1976, prohibits discrimination
because of race, national origin,
age, religion, marital status and
other criteria but doesn’
t specif-
ically include gay and transgen-
der individuals.
State Sen. Jeremy
Moss (D-Southfield), who is
Jewish, and Rep. Jon Hoadley
(D-Kalamazoo), two of the state
legislature’
s open-
ly gay members,
issued a statement
that included sup-
port for legislative
change on behalf
of gay and trans-
gender individ-
uals: “This deci-
sion — from a conservative-led
court, no less — ought to propel
the Michigan legislature to carry
on this work and extend these
employment protections to those
in Michigan facing housing and
public accommodation discrim-
ination. We have the legislation
to do so in Senate Bill 351 and
House Bill 4688, which would
amend the Elliott-Larsen Civil
Rights Act, and we welcome our
colleagues to join us in celebrat-
ing Pride Month and embracing
equality.
”
Both the National Council of
Jewish Women and the Reform
Movement issued statements
supporting the decision and not-
ing that Judaism believes “that
we are all made in the image of
the Divine — we all have inher-
ent dignity and worth.
”
Beverly Liss, president
of the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan
Detroit stated,
“The Jewish
Federation of
Metropolitan
Detroit applauds
the Supreme
Court’
s ruling
that Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act forbids employment dis-
crimination against LGBTQ
individuals. We believe that
LGBTQ individuals must be
guaranteed fair treatment
and equality under the law.
It is heartening to see today’
s
Supreme Court decision, partic-
ularly during this time of nation-
al reflection about civil rights
and protections afforded to all
Americans.
”
State Sen.
Jeremy Moss
Beverly Liss
JOHN HARDWICK
“This is absolutely amazing for
the LGBT community. It aff
ects
everyone who is LGBT. It’s bigger
than marriage equality.”
— RON ELKUS
Joanne Aronovitz
Michael Banks
Elaine Beresh,
Friends Liaison
Gayle Burstein
Carol Weintraub Fogel
Warren Frenkel
Judith R.
Herman
Barbara Horowitz
JEWISH SENIOR LIFE WISHES TO ANNOUNCE
THE 2020-
2021 OFFICERS OF THE JSL BOARD
May you go from Strength to Strength
DEB ROSENTHAL President
CAROLYN COHEN Vice President
JASON FISHER Vice President
MARK KOWALSKY Vice President
BRIAN RAZNICK Vice President
JEFFREY FLEISCHMAN Secretary
STEVE SWARTZ Treasurer
KEN GOSS Immediate Past President
Allison Klein
Scott Marcus
Nancy Reed
Rob Robbins
Jack Rothenberg
Neil Satovsky
Arlene Selik
Alan Sternfeld
Andrea Teitel