by Jessica Carreras
On Jan. 13, the Michigan Congress is back in session. And with the first meeting of the state House of Representatives and Senate comes the midway point for current bills attempting to pass within the legislative session.
For Michigan's LGBT community, the 2010 push is crucial.
Several LGBT rights bills were introduced last year; none have passed. Both community activists and the Triangle Foundation hope that the new year brings a renewed drive to make some – if not all – of the legislation a reality in 2010.
Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act
Since both the passage of federal hate crimes legislation and the enactment of Kalamazoo's anti-discrimination ordinance in November, the push for including LGBT citizens in Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act has seen renewed vigor within advocates.
The Elliott-Larsen amendment, HB 4192, saw significant movement within 2009. Introduced Feb. 5 by Rebekah Warren (D-Ann Arbor) in the Michigan House of Representatives, it was referred to the Committee on Judiciary the same day and, on Nov. 4, was passed by the committee on a 9-5 vote.
"Michigan can proudly say that we are leading the way on behalf of equality and fairness for all of our residents. The passage of the Kalamazoo anti-discrimination ordinance was a tremendous victory and the momentum for equality is continuing with the committee vote yesterday," said Shelli Weisberg, legislative director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan. "We thank Rep. Rebekah Warren for her leadership on this issue and we look forward to working with her as the legislative process continues."
Since then, no votes or hearings have been scheduled on the floor of the House, but proponents of the bill hope to see it pass in 2010, including the Triangle Foundation, which names the bills as one of its biggest areas of focus in the upcoming year.
"We're looking to find out from leadership when they plan to introduce (Elliott-Larsen) on the floor," explained Director of Policy Bernadette Brown. "And certainly calls from people help with that process."
Matt's Safe Schools Bill
Anti-bullying legislation, which has been introduced in every session of Michigan Congress for nearly a decade, remains a key issue for LGBT activists.
Several bills were put into motion in 2009 with varying degrees of demands to be made of school districts. House Bill 5093 and SB 159 are the strongest of the lot, including specific requirements on measures to be taken against bullying and an enumerated list of those to be protected, including for LGBT students. House Bill 4580 and SB 275 call for similar actions, but without enumeration.
Both sets of bills were brought to the table in 2009 and all four have remained stuck in their respective Committees on Education ever since.
Talks of the need to bullying legislation were raised again in mid-Contemporary BridalDecember after a Lansing bus driver allegedly verbally bullied a lesbian student. "This incident in Lansing is an example of why anti-bullying laws are needed in our schools in Michigan," Alicia Skillman, Triangle executive director, told Michigan Messenger following the incident. "Something should be done so … parents throughout Michigan will not have to worry about bullies like the bus driver."
Another bill, HB 4792, was introduced in April of 2009 and would only go so far as to "strongly encourage" that school boards work with parents and law enforcement to enact anti-bullying policies. Triangle hopes that enactment of HB 4792 could act as a stepping-stone to stronger anti-bullying legislation.
Brown also added that views toward the legislation in any form have improved in recent months after a Michigan high school performed a play on bullying, opening up dialogue between educators and parents. "More parents have been speaking out in asking for this legislation," Brown said. "I feel like there's probably some momentum starting to move. … so we're hoping there's some energy behind (the bill) now."
Second-parent adoption
Like the Elliott-Larsen amendment, a push for the passage of second-parent adoption had swift momentum for part of 2009, but came to a quick halt.
House Bill 4131, which would allow partners of parents to legally adopt their partner's child, was introduced in February by Rep. Alma Wheeler-Smith (D-Ypsilanti) and passed the House Judiciary Committee on April 22. Since then, it has seen no movement on the House floor.
"Our next goal is to have this bill brought before the full House of Representatives for a vote," the Coalition for Adoption Rights Equality said in a statement in April.
But although CARE, Triangle and other advocates remain supportive of the legislation, Brown said the momentum seems to have slowed. "I haven't been able to perceive any energy around (second-parent adoption)," she said. "It's still there; we still talk about it and it's still something that's important, but in terms of where most of the energy is, it's definitely behind Matt's (Safe Schools) Law."
Taking action
Brown maintained that one of the most crucial components to getting these pieces of legislation passed – along with other important bills, including several protecting citizens with HIV and the proposed repeal of Proposal 2 – is the voicing of support by constituents.
"What I hear a lot from legislative staffers is that they hear a lot from the opposition, but they hardly hear anything at all from the LGBT community," she stressed. "We send out e-mail blasts and ask people to please call them, because they really keep track of these calls. It's really important – definitely on the day of the hearing, but even before a hearing – just to call or e-mail and let them know you're supporting it."
Lobbying in person in Lansing works well, too, said Brown, and Triangle hopes to organize another lobbying day for LGBT and allied supporters in 2010. "We're still discussing our plans for the year," she said.
Brown stressed that the legislators to put pressure onto are Wayne Kuipers and Alan Cropsey, two Republican senators who have routinely stood in the way of passage of any pro-LGBT legislation.
Triangle hopes that by the end of the session, the effort put in by their organization, along with thousands of activists, will pay off with the passage of both Matt's Safe Schools Law and the Elliott-Larsen hate crimes amendment. But anti-bullying legislation, specifically, is where their biggest focus lies.
"We definitely want to see Matt's Law passed," Brown said. "That has the most bipartisan support of any of the legislation that we're supporting. It's important that we get that done. Parents are really exhausted; they're exasperated, at this point, with trying to get something passed."
