Originally established in 1991 as the Triangle Foundation, Equality Michigan has been dedicated for 25 years to helping Michigan's LGBTQ community achieve basic fairness and equality. Appointed interim executive director earlier this year, Erin Knott said that 2019 will be integral for increasing anti-violence and victim service programming.
"In 2018 we worked on over 400 cases of discrimination, violence and harassment. We will maintain our pop-up office hours across the state and will be expanding our current efforts so that we are training more organizations and helping more members of the LGBTQ community in all corners of the state," Knott said. "Our political program launched a membership program in 2018 and will continue to recruit new members to the Equality Michigan Action Network. We also piloted an interrogated voter engagement strategy in Southwest and West Michigan, which positions the organization to do more year-round voter education and mobilization. In 2019, we will engage LGBTQ volunteers and members in municipal races across the state to ensure we are supporting pro-equality candidates at the local level."
Finally, Knott said that EQMI's legislative agenda will include the following in 2019:
1.) Having a more inclusive policy for gender marker changes on licenses and State IDs and perhaps a third option regarding gender
2.) Ensuring that the Michigan Dept. of Civil Rights can continue taking complaints of LGBT Discrimination
3.) Ensuring that Michigan's Medicaid Programs do not discriminate against transgender recipients and their medically necessary care
4.) Re-introducing bill to amend Elliott-Larsen in the Michigan legislature
5.) Re-introducing bill to ban conversion therapy in the Michigan legislature
6.) Ensuring equitable parent protections for LGBT parents
