Ellen Shanna Knoppow
Why It's Legal for Religious Institutions to Discriminate Against LGBTQ Employees — and Why That Might Change
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 Supreme Court case that ruled that [...]
There Must Be a Better Way': Rally in Support of Terry Gonda
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 her job as music [...]
HRC Reaching Out to Equality Voters June 26, 27
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 Friday and Saturday will ensure that all [...]
Eastpointe Free Store Event to Commemorate Stonewall Uprising
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 April and Kniaz took stock of all the boxes. "I was [...]
Michigan LGBTQ Organizations to Host June 18 Virtual Event to Explain Supreme Court Decision
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 identity. Called Decision Day [...]
New Political Action Committee Benefits LGBTQ Candidates in Michigan
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 about it. "I do a lot of [...]
NextGen: Celebrating Pride, Engaging Young Voters
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 and staff. That's of great [...]
Warren Lights Up for Pride, if Only for One Night
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 of Warren, Michigan. According to the photo's [...]
Bravo, Berkley: Small-Town Feel, Inclusive Heart
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 a conversion therapy ban, issued a resolution in [...]
Ferndale Mayor Melanie Piana on Pride Month, Coronavirus and Being an Ally
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 ones are those necessitated by the [...]
Campaign to End Michigan LGBTQ Discrimination Falls Short on Signature Collection, Changes Course
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 Rights Act to [...]
LGBT Detroit Addresses Intimate Partner Violence and Healthy Relationships Amid Pandemic
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 for those in the LGBTQ [...]