Michigan Board Of Canvassers Approves LGBT Constitutional Amendment Language

LANSING – In a 4-0 vote Tuesday, the state Board of Canvassers approved the form and language of a ballot initiative to amend the Michigan constitution to protect the LGBT community from discrimination.
The proposal would amend the constitution to include gender identity, sexual orientation, gender and sex as protected classes. The move would eliminate the 2004 marriage amendment. The move is being taken as an end run around the state legislature which has failed to act on amending the state's Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act since legislation to amend the law was introduced in 1981.
Sara Wurfel, a spokesperson for Fair Michigan, a ballot committee pushing the measure, said the group believes that the ballot measure it the right way to go. She said the constitutional amendment was "at the right time and the right moment."
Fair Michigan expects to begin circulating petitions in January of 2016, Wurfel said. She was unable to give a launch date.
While the initiative is being supported by some high profile political leaders in the state – including Kelly Rossman-McKinney, a partner at Truscott Rossman public relations agency, and Richard McLellan, a high profile GOP activist and attorney – LGBT organizations have raised concerns about the initiative and the potential for success. In December, a community meeting with the LGBT community and Fair Michigan representatives, former Congressman Mark Schauer proposed the two sides of the debate sit down without the media present to look at the issues, particularly polling and modeling numbers.
Polls show strong support for such a measure, but modeling, which takes into account a variety of issues related to a voter, shows the measure would likely go down in defeat.
A first meeting as proposed by Schauer has occurred with all polling and modeling data being turned over to one of the participants to determine if there is a viable path to victory for a constitutional amendment and how to use the polling data in such a campaign. The group – which includes Fair Michigan representatives, as well as representatives from ACLU Michigan, Equality Michigan and other organizations – is supposed to meet again in January to discuss the findings.
But on Tuesday Wurfel sounded a different tune. When asked if Fair Michigan were prepared to move forward, regardless of what the review of polling and modeling data showed, she said the organization was.
"We are prepared to move forward," she said.
She said the group believes the constitutional amendment process was the "path to win."
Stephanie White, executive director of Equality Michigan, a statewide LGBT advocacy group, said she was surprised by the announcement.
"It's surprising they are going forward given they don't have the resources or support to be successful," she said in a phone interview.
Wurfel was unable to say how much money Fair Michigan had on hand. Ballot experts have said a successful petition drive, to collect 315,654 valid signatures of registered Michigan voters could cost as much as $1 million. The group would need to collect those signatures and turn them in by July 11 to qualify for the Nov. 2016 general election.