Gov. Whitmer signs bill expanding Michigan civil rights law to include LGBTQ protections.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday expanded the state's civil rights law to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, a change long sought by LGBTQ advocates.
Whitmer called it a "new day in Michigan" that's "been a long time coming" during a signing ceremony Thursday.
State Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, who introduced the bill — Senate Bill 4 — has described the effort to expand Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) as a 50-year journey after previous efforts to include LGBTQ individuals in the 1976 law languished in Lansing.
Since her first term in office, Whitmer has called for lawmakers to expand the state's civil rights law to include protections for Michigan's LGBTQ community.
SB 4 would essentially codify Michigan court rulings that found that the state's civil rights law offers protections for LGBTQ individuals.
But she said that until Thursday, Michigan has never passed a law to enshrine the legal rights of the LGBTQ community. »
