The state Civil Rights Commission hopes to help local governments draft non-discrimination laws.
The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Jake Neher has more.
The commission has released a model civil rights ordinance communities can use as a template for their own laws. It includes protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity – which are not covered under Michigan’s nondiscrimination law.
Civil Rights Commission Chair Arthur Horwitz says that means you can be fired or denied housing in many parts of Michigan if you are – or are suspected of being – LGBT.
“It’s just not fair,” he says. “It’s not right. And we as a state and as Michiganders are better than that.”
The commission – which was largely appointed by Governor Snyder – is urging lawmakers to add LGBT protections to the state’s non-discrimination law.