The Michigan Department of Corrections announced Thursday it has implemented a new policy which will prevent discrimination against prisoners who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. 

The new policy directive reads, in part:

All prisoners committed to the jurisdiction of the Department shall be treated humanely and with dignity in matters of health care, personal safety and general living conditions. They also shall not be discriminated against based on race, religion, ethnic background, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or gender identity.

Gay rights groups are hailing the announcement.

“Triangle Foundation extends its gratitude to Director Patricia Caruso and her staff for their leadership in bringing LGBT issues to light within the Department of Corrections,” stated Bernadette Brown, Triangle Foundation’s Director of Policy. Triangle Foundation is a Detroit based LGBT rights organization which lobbies for policy protections and works with victims of hate crimes.

Michigan Equality, another LGBT rights organization, but based in Lansing, issued the following unattributed statement:

“Our hope is that those involved with legislative and policy decisions in our Michigan schools, businesses, townships and cities will also decide to add these enumerated protections to their policies, ordinances, and laws. We are especially pleased to see the much-needed addition of “sexual orientation and gender identity” as a group of people in need of – and now provided – protection. It is ironic that prisoners in Michigan are now to be treated more humanely than the citizens of our state.

But not all state residents and activists are happy. Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, issued the following statement regarding the policy shift:

“It’s no great surprise that a department head appointed by Jennifer Granholm would mimic the governor’s promotion of supposed “rights” based on homosexual behavior and cross-dressing, despite the obvious public health hazard of validating and giving special protection to such behavior in a prison environment. It will also be no great surprise when the Granholm administration eventually implements the next logical progression of such a policy, announcing that Michigan taxpayers should foot the bill for prisoner sex change operations.”