Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has been a proven advocate for the LGBTQ community. She will use her inaugural State of the State speech tonight to urge lawmakers to support her in tackling a list of long-standing LGBTQ issues, starting with the expansion of Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include LGBTQ protections.
According to a Detroit News report, the East Lansing Democrat will address the viewing public and the GOP-led legislature to lay out her agenda for the coming year, "making the case that a gay rights law would help the state attract talented workers."
Despite being challenged on this, Whitmer took action in January and signed an executive directive that broke new ground regarding civil rights protections for the LGBTQ community.
The directive outlined that it would help instill policies to "promote public confidence in the fairness and integrity of state government" by ensuring all Michigan residents receive fair treatment in "employment, state contracting and when accessing services from state government."
Whitmer is also expected to use her first State of the State speech to focus on the roads, the workforce, education and drinking water, and to work on building bipartisan bridges in state government.
The State of the State speech begins at 7 p.m. at the Michigan Capitol Building in Lansing. The speech will be broadcast live on public TV and radio and also live-streamed online.
