When Brett Nicholson was growing up, he never imagined running for elected office — or owning a gay bar, for that matter. But now, the human resource management professional and owner of the Liberty Bar [...]
While the homophobic letters recently sent to a number of LGBTQ+ leaders in Michigan did not constitute a direct threat, it’s useful to have a working knowledge of what exactly constitutes a threat, what is [...]
At least seven LGBTQ+ leaders across Michigan received the same flyer sent by mail in mid-April. With the title "Prophecy: The Punishment of My Gay People," the letter quoted several Bible verses. All of the [...]
Rep. Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing) believes that if more people were educated on the issue of hair discrimination and aware of its negative impact, that would go a long way to banning the practice. And if [...]
With funds from a grant provided by the Tegan and Sara Foundation, Stand with Trans is launching a three-edition digital newspaper by and for transgender and non-binary youth. Stand with Trans is a Michigan-based organization [...]
In what can be considered a win for LGBTQ+ parents and their children in the state of Michigan, the Michigan Court of Appeals has overturned a lower court’s decision involving a lesbian couple’s custody dispute. [...]
After Southwest Michigan First’s controversial hiring of former House Speaker Lee Chatfield, followed by his tumultuous tenure and subsequent resignation, it’s difficult to say whether 2021 started with a bang or a thud for LGBTQ+ [...]
When Garnet Lewis and her business partners decided to name their gourmet food shop in Douglas Isabel’s Market & Eatery, they had a clear choice in mind. Their namesake was an area school teacher and [...]
On Friday, March 12, as the Affirmations LGBTQ+ Community Center in Ferndale held its twice-weekly ‘Lettuce Help’ food and clothing distribution program, a small group of anti-LGBTQ+ protesters gathered outside the main entrance on the [...]
Online banking is nothing new, but it’s becoming increasingly popular. What is brand-new in the U.S. is a platform that “queers” the concept: It’s called Daylight, and as co-founder Rob Curtis says, ‘We’re building a [...]
In what one hopes is the final chapter on a controversy that’s racked the LGBTQ+ community in Michigan and their allies, as well as Kalamazoo as a whole, former House Speaker Lee Chatfield has abruptly [...]
In an unexpected move that followed the Feb. 11 hiring of former House Speaker Lee Chatfield as CEO of economic development nonprofit Southwest Michigan First, the organization on Feb. 16 announced a new non-discrimination policy and [...]
Southwest Michigan First, a Kalamazoo-based economic development organization, has named former House Speaker Lee Chatfield as CEO. According to Crain’s Detroit Business, Chatfield confirmed he would be moving to Kalamazoo. The former representative from Levering, [...]
An Outdated Law In a case that shines a light on Michigan’s antiquated surrogate parenting law, a couple in Grand Rapids has been ordered to endure the process of adopting their own biological newborn twins. [...]
Equality Michigan recently elected its new board leadership for 2021, with former State Sen. Buzz Thomas as chair of its board of directors. He has served on the board since 2017. The leadership team of [...]
Without holding committee hearings, last week Senate Republicans in the Michigan State Legislature voted to reject five of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s nominees for appointments to various state boards. Among them was Jason Morgan, openly gay [...]
A traditional wine pairing dinner at a favorite restaurant may seem out of bounds right now due to the constraints brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic, but Royal Oak’s Café Muse has found a [...]
When Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners Chair Jason Morgan was deciding where to attend college as an undergrad, a lot of people asked why he would want to head north to Marquette. But from his [...]
Nicole Denson is the kind of person who would rather talk policy with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer than have her picture taken with Michigan’s semi-celebrity chief executive. And she had just that opportunity at a Planned [...]
Meet the Council Cpl. Dani Woods and the newly formed Detroit Police Department LGBTQ Community Council have ambitious goals. Yet the council has already succeeded in convening, organizing and planning throughout the pandemic, not to [...]
Fulfilling a Need National statistics reveal that LGBTQ youth are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than their straight or cisgender counterparts. And while on average, 40 percent of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ, that [...]
Necessary Cancellations Like Pride festivals across the nation — and the world, for that matter — Kalamazoo Pride swiftly canceled its in-person celebration this past June due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. But without Kalamazoo [...]
Millions in Loans Seven hate groups with explicitly anti-LGBTQ ideologies were awarded nearly $2.5 million combined in Paycheck Protection Program loans, according to Dec. 9 and Dec. 12 analyses by NBC News. Established by the [...]
A Big Win for LaMacchia, Cross and the Party Jody LaMacchia, former candidate for Michigan’s 46th State House District and former chair of the North Oakland Democratic Club, was elected chair of the Oakland County [...]
Not a Statistic Jey’nce Poindexter is a woman with a mission. No stranger to the LGBTQ community in Michigan and beyond, the sought-after speaker is not only vice president of the Trans Sistas of Color [...]
What Comes Next? This Friday, Nov. 20, from noon to 1 p.m. the Human Rights Campaign, along with numerous LGBTQ groups across Michigan, will host a webinar via Facebook Live to unpack the results of [...]
Call to Action Cold, windy weather could not deter a group of about 40 activists who gathered in Detroit’s Krainz Park Monday to gain inspiration from local and national voting rights advocates in a last-minute [...]
In 2016, 95 percent of votes cast by Detroiters went to Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton. However, the total number of registered Detroit voters overall who cast ballots was less than 50 percent, representing a steady [...]
Ask the Clerk This election season represents Michigan’s first major election with widespread no-reason absentee voting, which came about with the passage of Proposal 3 in 2018. So it stands to reason not everyone is [...]
A Bash Like No Other Celebrating Halloween this year promises to be a fraught endeavor as the country continues to grapple with the novel coronavirus pandemic. However, the Affirmations LGBTQ community center has a fix [...]
Opposition to Expanding ELCRA Homophobia has reared its ugly head in Michigan politics yet again in the 2020 election cycle. This time, it's Jody LaMacchia, Democrat and openly LGBTQ candidate for Michigan’s 46th State House [...]
Dave Coulter’s journey from mayor of Ferndale to his appointment as Oakland County executive last year has been covered extensively by Between The Lines. In addition, the publishers of BTL endorsed him before the primary. [...]
Editor’s note: This interview was conducted before the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett As staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan’s LGBT Project, Jay Kaplan often unpacks legal decisions in a way [...]
Following the Rules The third time it happened Brian Lane notified the police. An angry client, likely drunk, was calling Lane in the middle of the night to curse him out for refusing to schedule [...]
Following the Rules The third time it happened Brian Lane notified the police. An angry client, likely drunk, was calling Lane in the middle of the night to curse him out for refusing to schedule [...]
As the novel coronavirus pandemic has developed over the last several months, organizations both big and small have been affected by its impact. Between The Lines caught up with Rob Todaro, the press secretary of [...]
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 [...]
