A landmark ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court has affirmed that gender and sexual orientation are protected classes under the state’s existing nondiscrimination laws.
The court’s 5-2 decision in Rouch World, LLC v Department of Civil Rights, released on Thursday, states that discrimination based on sexuality and gender nonconformity must be prohibited, because it “necessarily” involves prejudice based on a person’s sex. Under the new ruling, Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) will ban employers and landlords from discriminating against LGBTQ+ people in housing and employment.
“Regardless of whether one defines ‘sex’ expansively or narrowly, the result of the textual analysis is the same: discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation necessarily involves discrimination because of sex in violation of [state law],” wrote Republican Justice Elizabeth Clement for the majority. (Chief Justice Bridget McCormack and Democratic justices Elizabeth Welch, Richard Bernstein, and Megan Cavanagh joined the majority, with Republican justices Brian Zahra and David Viviano filing separate dissents.)
In a statement, Attorney General Dana Nessel called the Michigan Supreme Court decision a major step forward for LGBTQ+ rights in Michigan.
“Our residents deserve to live in a state that recognizes the value of diversity and rejects the notion that our own civil rights law could be used as a tool of discrimination,” Nessel said in a statement. “This ruling is not only a victory for the LGBTQ+ community, but for all Michigan residents, and one that’s long overdue.”
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The move is a signal that “hate has no home in Michigan,” according to Democrat Gretchen Whitmer.
The case was brought by two Michigan businesses, both of whom refused service to LGBTQ+ people; Rouch World, an outdoor venue, refused to host the wedding of two women, while Uprooted Electrolysis refused hair removal service to a transgender client.
Both businesses were investigated by the state Department of Civil Rights and sued after they were found to have been in violation. The Supreme Court’s decision this week does not directly call for damages or relief from any party, but remanded the case to a lower court “for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
The decision comes as Michigan’s House of Representatives also considers HB4297, which would officially add “sexual orientation, gender identity or expression” to the ELCRA text. But in the state Senate, Republicans are still fighting to pass SB0218, another bill banning trans girls from women’s school sports teams.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned this year, it’s that judicial precedent can be reversed, so advocates in Michigan will still be on guard — even as they enjoy a well-deserved victory lap.
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