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State Republicans extreme attack on LGBT Michigan citizens

By Eric W. Rader

After years of needless procrastination, the Michigan Senate recently passed MattÕs Safe School Act, a bill originally intended to ban bullying against youth in the state. The namesake of the legislation was Matt Epling, a young man who killed himself in 2002 after being bullied at his school. Unfortunately, the legislation the Republican majority approved would actually be worse than having no law at all. In yet another nod to right wing bigots, Republicans insisted on including a religious exemption in the anti-bullying bill, essentially giving bullies permission to claim religious beliefs as a justification for bullying. The Democratic minority in the Senate was right to vote against a bill that does not deserve the label Òanti-bullying.Ó MattÕs father, Kevin, denounced the RepublicansÕ shameful legislation bearing his sonÕs name. Following the outcry over this issue and the resulting bad publicity, Senate Republicans last week agreed to drop the religious exemption from the bill. The House version of this bill does not include the exemption, so the Senate will need now need to act on the House bill and pass it.
While Michigan Senate Republicans needed public pressure to do the right thing on bullying, their Democratic colleagues stood squarely on the side of Michigan youth from the very beginning. The hero of the recent debate in the Senate was Sen. Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing), the minority leader. In a passionate statement explaining her decision to vote against the bill with the religious exemption, Sen. Whitmer correctly pointed out that the Republican bill would not protect kids against bullying. Her statement went viral on Youtube, prompting supportive calls to her legislative office from around the country. Her courageous stand played a key role in forcing Republicans to drop the religious exemption from the bill.
Even with the change, the Michigan bill is still not strong enough. The legislation does not enumerate categories deserving of special attention such as sexual orientation and gender identity, thus ignoring the animus that motivates people to bully and harass other people. A group of young people has started a petition to ask the Michigan Legislature to enumerate protected categories in the anti-bullying legislation. Unfortunately, Republicans in the Michigan Legislature believe that enumeration is somehow giving special protection to LGBT youth. The latest version of the bill is probably the best that can be achieved in this political environment, and it should be passed soon.
Many leaders in Lansing today have a narrow point of view on social issues. While Gov. Rick Snyder styles himself a moderate, many of his legislative colleagues are extreme ideologues who seek to push a far-right agenda on this state. Legislative Republicans are attempting now to deny domestic partner benefits to LGBT public employees in the state, ostensibly to save money. However, University of Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman, whose institution would be affected by this legislation, points out that eliminating these benefits would not save money. In fact, she argues, such a regressive move would likely make it harder for her to attract quality employees during these economically challenging times. All of this points out how out of touch many Republican leaders are. While the state continues to struggle with huge economic and fiscal challenges, the majority party in the Michigan Legislature seeks to marginalize LGBTs and others.
In the November 8th elections, voters across the country sent a clear message that Republicans have overreached on a host of issues. Ohio citizens voted overwhelmingly to repeal the Republican-sponsored effort to revoke collective bargaining rights for public employees. Mississippi voters decisively rejected an effort to establish ÒpersonhoodÓ for fetuses, a proposal that would have criminalized not only abortion, but also in-vitro fertilization. People in Maine reinstated same-day voter registration after the Republican governor attempted to end it. Here in Michigan, voters in the Grand Blanc area recalled Rep. Paul Scott, a Republican who pushed anti-teacher and anti-labor laws as the chair of the House Education Committee. It is clear that citizens in our state and around the country do not favor the slash-and-burn agenda of the modern-day Republican Party.
While the Michigan Senate is not up for election in next yearÕs elections, voters will have a chance to make changes in the Michigan House. As a result of the 2010 elections, Republicans hold a comfortable lead in the House, even with the recall of Rep. Scott. While Republican legislators did eliminate the religious exemption in the anti-bullying legislation, on many other issues this year, GOP legislators in our state have eagerly passed nearly every part of the right-wing Republican agenda in Lansing. All of us need to be involved in the efforts to return state government to all citizens, no matter who they are.

Contact your Michigan State RepresentativeÑurge him/her to support MattÕs Safe School Act, without any religious exemptions:
http://www.house.mi.gov/mhrpublic

Contact your Michigan State SenatorÑurge him/her to oppose HB 4770, the elimination of domestic partner benefits at MichiganÕs public institutions:
http://www.senate.michigan.gov/fysenator/fysenator.htm

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