Nondiscrimination and the Michigan Democratic Party

As Chair of the Rules Committee, I had the privilege of presiding over a session of the Michigan Democratic Party's State Central Committee this afternoon as we approved an amendment to the Rules of the Michigan Democratic Party to add "gender identity" to the nondiscrimination provisions of our Fundamental Principles. I'm proud to say that the Rules amendment was approved unanimously.

For many years, the MDP's Platform has called for an amendment to Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to ban discrimination based on both sexual orientation and gender identity. We have also been blessed to have transgender leaders active at every level of our party. Today's vote brings our Rules in line with our long-standing practices and is a strong statement about our party's values. It's also a stark contrast with the decision made by Speaker Bolger and House Republicans this week to scuttle legislation that would have protected all LGBT Michiganders from discrimination. Not to mention legislation approved by House Republicans to create a license to discriminate in Michigan. It doesn't get any starker than that.

It was a pleasure working with Sam Jones-Darling and the Kent County Democratic Party on this amendment. And to have a MDP Chair who is a strong supporter of the LGBT community. Thank you, Lon Johnson.

#elliotlarsen #lgbt #nondiscrimination #mdp