GRAND RAPIDS, MI – It started on social media before spilling off the screen.
Instagram posts started circulating in early July that The Broadway Avenue, a new Grand Rapids venue, does not host LGBTQ weddings. Venue owners Nick and Hannah Natale responded in kind saying they want their business to remain “true to our Christian faith and this includes marriage” and told WOOD-TV they believe marriage is “between a man and a woman.”
A fury followed.
Tens of thousands of comments flooded The Broadway Avenue social media pages. Protesters gathered outside the venue waving rainbow flags. And the city launched an investigation regarding its human rights ordinance.
Related: Grand Rapids investigating claims wedding venue won’t host ceremonies for LGBTQ couples
Amid the backlash, a question lingered: Is this legal?
“As far as the legality for our department and our jurisdiction, if someone comes to us with allegations of unlawful discrimination based on their sex, including gender identity and sexual orientation, we take those complaints and right now we are conducting investigations,” said Marcelina Trevino, Director of Enforcement Division for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.
Although the Michigan Department of Civil Rights does investigate discrimination complaints involving sexual orientation and gender identity, legal protections for LGBTQ people in Michigan are shaky.
The crux of this matter is one word in the law: sex.
The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act of 1976 protects people from discrimination based on religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status and martial status. But the Michigan Civil Rights Commission adopted an interpretative statement five years ago to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation under the category of sex.
“At this time with the interpretative statement that the commission issued in (May) 2018, we find that it is unlawful discrimination based on sex if there are issues of discrimination as it pertains to gender identity and, or sexual orientation,” Trevino said.
Related: Sexual orientation is protected under civil rights law, AG Nessel argues to Michigan Supreme Court
Although the interpretative statement currently extends authority to the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, this issue strikes at the heart of a case pending with the Michigan Supreme Court.
In 2020, two businesses being investigated for discrimination sued the Michigan Department of Civil Rights arguing the state’s civil rights laws do not cover sexual orientation.
Rouch World, a 300-acre park in Sturgis, declined to host a same-sex wedding ceremony because of religious beliefs. And the owners of hair removal business Uprooted Electrolysis in the Upper Peninsula cited Christian beliefs as the reason why they denied service to a transgender woman.
Plaintiffs argued they have a constitutional right to deny service based on religious beliefs—a flashpoint around LGBTQ rights in the United States.
Attorney David Kallman, who is representing both businesses in the lawsuit, previously told MLive the Civil Rights Department doesn’t have the authority to define the law.
“Our state law says these interpretative statements are not binding on courts or citizens,” he said in an interview last year. “In a way, it’s really not even the issue of sexual orientation—it’s been morphed into that—but the issue is the department has no right to enforce these interpretive statements.”
Kallman was not immediately available for comment.
Related: Does Michigan’s civil rights law apply to LGTBQ people? Michigan Supreme Court will decide.
The Michigan Court of Claims later ruled that sexual orientation is not protected under the current civil rights law, which prompted Attorney General Dana Nessel to file an appeal pushing the case to the Michigan Supreme Court.
Arguing to the court in March, Nessel contended sexual orientation is “inextricably linked” to the category of sex under the law.
The Michigan Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling soon that could shape the state’s civil rights law after other efforts, like a recent ballot initiative, have failed.
The outcome could enshrine protections for LGBTQ people, or it could overrule the interpretative statement that currently protects sexual orientation and gender identity from discrimination.
In the meantime, Trevino says the Michigan Department of Civil Rights will keep investigating complaints under the purview of the interpretative statement.
“Until there’s something contrary from the courts, that’s what gives us our jurisdiction and authority,” she said.
Outside of the state law, city ordinances can go further.
The city of Grand Rapids has a human rights ordinance that does not allow discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The city launched an investigation after receiving 10 complaints against The Broadway Avenue, and a petition pushing the city to enforce the ordinance has more than 12,000 signatures.
A violation could prompt Grand Rapids to seek a court order to prevent discrimination.
That investigation is still pending with the ordinance allowing a 90-day review from the complaint filing.
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