As some of you may know the State of Michigan allows employers to fire people from their job for their sexual preference.

Under Michigan’s Elliot-Larsen Act of 1976 the civil rights of many of Michigan’s minority groups are protected, making it illegal to discriminate based on religion, race, immigrant status or sex, but there were no protections written into the amendment to prevent discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

Last year Michigan’s Department of Civil Rights released a study that found that our state’s economy would benefit by updating our antidiscrimination law. Many recent graduates and young professionals had stated in the study that they were leaving Michigan because of the “current state of discrimination.”

Twenty-one states have already passed legislation protecting the rights of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community in the workplace. Recently 10 employers here in Michigan including Dow Chemical, Herman Miller, Whirlpool and AT&T have banded together to impel legislators to add sexual orientation to Michigan’s civil rights protections.

Even though much of their effort is based upon an economic need and the necessity to keep talented young people in Michigan, it is inspiring that these corporations are willing to stand up to this law and do the right thing.

These corporations have formed the Michigan Competitive Workforce Coalition whose goal is to educate legislators about the need to update the Elliot-Larsen Act and to demonstrate to these young professionals and the rest of the nation that we are a socially progressive state that respects the rights of all its citizens. According to the coalition, 75 percent of Michigan residents would like to see civil rights protections extended to the LGBT community under the Elliott-Larsen Act.

Too many young people are leaving our state and taking their talents to other regions where they don’t have to fear for the safety of their job based upon homophobic discrimination or because the church their employer attends may promote intolerance. Members of the coalition feel that if Michigan is to make an economic comeback it must include all groups that can contribute to its economic recovery.

According to the coalition, none of our state’s politicians have yet stepped up to sponsor this legislation, but no one has refused to support it either. I think many politicians —especially Republicans — fear openly supporting the LGBT community in an election year, but the fact is it is the right thing to do and the reason we voted them into office.

Allowing employees to be terminated based on their sexuality demonstrates the backward thinking of many of our Republican politicians and the ugly discriminatory thinking of some of our state’s Christian groups.

In recent years, too many laws have been passed by this state legislature that was seeded in hatred and racial stereotypes. The LGBT community cannot be ignored and this legislation needs to be amended to include all groups, not just for economic reasons but for the good of society as a whole.

We cannot allow the homophobic minority of the Christian right to dictate social policy to the rest of us. It goes against the very grain of the principles that this nation was built upon.

It is a new century and its time to build a new world.

 

William Crandell is a community activist and member of the Michigan Education Association and the Michigan Democratic Party. He is also a member of the South County Democratic Club where he has served as their communications director and as the chairperson of the SCDC Blue Tiger Community Action Committee.