Drag Queens and Voting Machines While an event that combines drag performance with voter education might seem incongruous, the creative minds at the youth voting campaign NextGen Michigan have found a way to make it [...]
It’s not news that the Catholic Church has a long history of discrimination against LGBTQ adherents of the faith. What Between The Lines took notice of in particular, however, was a trio of recent events [...]
Denied Communion, Part 2 When Between The Lines last spoke with Chief Judge Sara Smolenski in December, the 62-year-old resident of Grand Rapids had recently been informed she could no longer receive Communion at St. [...]
At Home, Yet Together Although supporters of Equality Michigan could only meet virtually for this year’s Mission Equality reception, with a headliner like 'Pose’s' Dominique Jackson, the hour was no less compelling. Executive Director Erin [...]
Editor's Note: A former version of this piece misstated that attorneys trying the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission were hostile toward religion. This has been corrected to reflect that the case was dismissed [...]
From Crisis Comes Opportunity The novel coronavirus pandemic has affected the 2020 election cycle in countless ways. One extreme example is candidate Greg Reyner’s campaign: to begin with, Reyner is running for Michigan’s 4th State [...]
The ZBA, and Why it Matters Kelley Skillin, a nine-year resident of Sterling Heights, said she was “horrified and appalled” at the language used and the ideas perpetuated at two recent city council meetings, particularly [...]
“Morality Clause” By now, readers may already be familiar with Terry Gonda’s story. She is the former music director of St. John Fisher Chapel in Auburn Hills who was fired from her part-time job there [...]
The Ministerial Exception, Explained The separation of church and state, enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, has been a subject of debate time and again by the courts. And while not the central issue, the recent [...]
On Saturday, June 27, approximately 150 individuals, mostly parishioners of St. John Fisher Chapel in Auburn Hills, gathered outside after mass to rally in support Terry Gonda. Days earlier, Gonda had been officially fired from [...]
Turning Out the Absentee Vote The Human Rights Campaign is wrapping up its Pride Week of Action this weekend with phone banks to contact all potential equality voters in Michigan. The banks, going on through [...]
Origin Sometimes it takes moving from one house to another to realize how much excess “stuff” one has. That’s what happened to Tim Kniaz when he and his husband moved from Warren to Eastpointe last [...]
Unexpected Ruling On Thursday, June 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. a virtual rally will be held to celebrate and explain Monday’s Supreme Court decision that workplace sex discrimination extends to sexual orientation and gender [...]
By the Numbers By his own account, Ferndale resident Oscar Renautt is “a numbers person.” That’s why, when he calculated how grossly underrepresented the LGBTQ community is in elective office, he wanted to do something [...]
Commitment to Diversity NextGen America, the coalition of young people whose goal it is to mobilize other youth to register and vote for progressive candidates, places a high value on the diversity of its volunteers [...]
Although this photo might bring to mind the iconic image of the White House lit up in Pride colors upon the United States' historic marriage equality ruling, it is in fact the city council building [...]
Berkley, Out of the Closet “Where you want to be” is the motto of Berkley, Michigan, and now more than ever, “you” is directed toward the LGBTQ community. Just since December, the city council enacted [...]
Pride During a Pandemic While this is the 19th consecutive year that Ferndale is recognizing June as Pride Month, for a number of reasons it will be quite different from years past. Certainly, the obvious [...]
Far short of the 340,000-plus signatures required to put its ballot initiative before the voters in November, Fair and Equal Michigan, the campaign to secure equal rights for LGBTQ Michiganders by expanding the Elliott-Larsen Civil [...]
Increased Risk Stay-at-home orders designed to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus have had some unintended victims: namely, those at risk of intimate partner violence who are forced to isolate with their abuser. And [...]
The Need is Great Only about 38 percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood. That’s because of various restrictions like age and physical health of the potential donor plus factors intended to [...]
Tried and True It’s more than a slogan. “Care. No Matter What” is Planned Parenthood’s guiding principle and a mandate now more than ever as the organization faces its latest external threat: the novel coronavirus. [...]
Stress from the stay-at-home order, growing fears of the unknown about one’s livelihood or life itself — those are just some of the reasons the coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on the emotional well-being [...]
Rachel Crandall-Crocker is a licensed master social worker and the executive director of Transgender Michigan. In addition, she's the primary volunteer for the Transgender Michigan Helpline. She explained its function and that it serves a [...]
Community Mainstay Menjo’s is perhaps the best-known gay bar in Detroit and has been a mainstay in the community for more than 40 years. Now, temporarily shuttered due to the coronavirus pandemic, the adjoining theater [...]
On Friday, May 1, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., Stand with Trans will hold a Facebook Live “Ask the Expert” event featuring Dr. Toni Caretto, a local authority on gender. Caretto is a fully licensed [...]
“I don’t think I’ve ever been sicker in my life.” Those words were spoken by Brendan Johnson, candidate for Michigan’s 45th State House District, in a video message posted on his campaign Facebook page shortly [...]
Change of Plans Baking Irish soda bread in one’s kitchen while answering questions from potential voters might seem like an unusual way to campaign for office, but Brendan Johnson is not a typical candidate and [...]
Change of Course As every aspect of the 2020 election cycle adapts to the constraints of social distancing, a campaign in Michigan that seeks to secure equal rights for LGBTQ people has found a novel [...]
Whether working from home or not working at all, most people have extra time on their hands as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. And while it’s true in theory that one could pen their [...]
Creative Problem-Solving If there’s one thing the Ruth Ellis Center and the youth it serves are known for, it’s the ability to adapt and problem-solve when faced with challenges. And as the community navigates a [...]
Online Offerings In the first of what will be weekly addresses via Zoom videoconference, Affirmations Executive Director Dave Garcia reported on March 27 that although the center is closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most [...]
Innovation by Necessity To those visiting MCC Detroit’s website for the first time, it might not be readily apparent that things like virtual worship and Zoom videoconference Bible study sessions are brand-new offerings. In fact, [...]
Necessary Adjustments It’s not just individuals who have had to make drastic adjustments because of the COVID-19 outbreak. From business to government, innovations like working from home on a widescale basis and the temporary suspension [...]
Lawsuit Filed at Critical Time On March 19, three organizations serving the LGBTQ community sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over its Nov. 2019 announcement that it would no longer enforce nondiscrimination [...]
Emergency Expansion of Ryan White Funding In response to the recent outbreak of COVID-19, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Division of HIV and STD Programs is providing emergency financial assistance to Ryan [...]
Taking Action As of Saturday, in response to the threat of COVID-19, members of the Trans Sistas of Color Project have begun distributing care packages containing essential items to transgender women of color in need. [...]
To kick off Oakland University’s Pride Month, the inaugural Tim Larrabee Memorial Lecture will feature LGBTQ activist, civil rights hero and author Cleve Jones on Monday, March 9.Pride Month at OU grew out of Pride [...]
Sobering Statistic Despite major pushes to encourage voter turnout, a statistic that might alarm LGBTQ activists is that 21 percent of LGBTQ adults are not registered to vote. According to an Oct. 2019 survey conducted [...]
“Everybody is Welcome in Warren” During an impromptu interview with the leader of Michigan’s third-largest city, Warren Mayor Jim Fouts said that if presented with an inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance by the city council he said, [...]
Wholly Unexpected On Feb. 11, something happened in Michigan’s third-largest city that many would consider remarkable. Despite that fact, it went largely unnoticed. The Warren City Council adopted a Pride Month resolution, with six out [...]
Announced yesterday, a new partnership between Equality Michigan and the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office will benefit LGBTQ victims of hate crimes by enhancing support and services. This is a project that attorney and Equality Michigan [...]
The History Five years ago, a ballot committee named Fair Michigan and headed by then-attorney Dana Nessel sought to amend Michigan’s Constitution to ensure the equal rights of LGBTQ people and women. Then, just as [...]
By the Numbers Currently, the ballot language to expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity or expression has been approved, and launches in Grand Rapids and East Lansing have [...]
Recognizing a Need On Wednesday, Feb. 5, a community conversation focusing on the needs of trans and queer black students will take place at Kofi House in Detroit from 6 to 7:30 p.m. titled Repairing [...]
In what looks much like a rainbow tree farm, 100 miniature Pride flags sprouted from the lawn of Grosse Pointe Congregational Church this month. Andrea Joy, chair of the annual Grosse Pointe Pride March, is [...]
When it was revealed that LGBTQ Michigander Kevin Bacon was mutilated and killed by a Grindr date last month, his story not only made local headlines but national waves as well. In fact, it impacted communities that [...]
A Landmark Decision “There’s a special obligation that you have as a black attorney. You have a special obligation to fight for civil rights. You have a special obligation to fight for those who don’t [...]
New Campaign A citizen-led campaign is underway that seeks to initiate legislation that would expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression across Michigan. Twenty-one states already [...]
A Grandmother to Many As the founder of the former transgender advocacy group Crossroads, Grace Bacon is considered the grandmother of the transgender community in Michigan by many. Some know that Bacon spent her career [...]
