I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
In response to a question posed by The Advocate magazine, the White House has thrown its support behind two of the three major gay-rights ballot initiatives voters will face on November 3 – Maine’s up-or-down vote on upholding same-sex marriage, and Washington state’s up-or-down vote on domestic partnerships.
But there was no mention of Kalamazoo’s anti-discrimination ordinance right here in Michigan.
Unlike the Maine and Washington state measures, Kalamazoo’s isn’t about partner rights and benefits, but rather outlawing discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Here’s the brief White House statement obtained by The Advocate earlier today:
The President has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same-sex couples, and as he said at the Human Rights Campaign dinner, he believes “strongly in stopping laws designed to take rights away.” Also at the dinner, he said he supports, “ensuring that committed gay couples have the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple in this country.”
It’s clear that the focus of The Advocate’s Washington correspondent Kerry Eleveld was on the upcoming votes in Maine and Washington state — even though the White House statement mentions neither by name. And there’s actually a perfectly good reason Eleveld’s didn’t see the need to flesh out the president’s take on the Kalamazoo question.
That perfectly good reason can be found at the White House’s “civil rights” issues page:
President Obama also continues to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
That’s the exact language Kalamazoo’s Ordinance 1856 uses, and the White House statement also happens to jibe with then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s voting record. Fifteen other Michigan towns and cities already have nearly identical anti-discrimination ordinances. Of course, Kalamazoo voters will have the final say on whether or not their city joins the club in less than three weeks.
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