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.
Momentarily turning away from the news of Maine’s nail-biter vote apparently won by opponents of civil marriage rights for gays and lesbians, the Human Rights Campaign issued a statement on yesterday’s Kalamazoo vote.
The Washington D.C.-based civil rights organization — the nation’s largest for LGBT individuals — applauded Kalamazoo voters’ passage of Ordinance 1856, the ballot initiative that will now bar discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the southwest Michigan city.
In a statement, HRC President Joe Solmonese was quoted as saying the following:
I applaud the people of Kalamazoo for embracing equality for all. Sexual orientation and gender identity have no place in employment decisions, access to housing, or public accommodations. Each of us is entitled to security in our daily lives regardless of who we love, of who we are. Thank you One Kalamazoo for your outstanding efforts and rousing success.
The HRC’s release listed the current status of anti-discrimination protections for the LGBT community around the nation:
Twelve states plus Washington, D.C. have laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity: California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
Another 21 states prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Additionally, there are 6 states that have an executive order, administrative order or personnel regulation prohibiting discrimination against public employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity and 3 states prohibit discrimination against public employees based on sexual orientation only.
In 22 states and the District of Columbia state employees are provided with domestic partner benefits. To view a map of state laws and policies visit: http://www.hrc.org/documents
Currently, there are no federal laws that expressly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Congress has introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace. The House held a hearing earlier this fall and the Senate will hold a hearing tomorrow, November 5th
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