Jay Kaplan
Celebrating a Major LGBTQ+ Michigan Victory in the Face of Ongoing Anti-Queer Attacks
With Gov. Whitmer holding a signing ceremony in Lansing this week, members of Michigan’s LGBTQ+ community were given a major milestone to celebrate while also being emphatically shown that they remain a prime target for those hoping to score [...]
With This Supreme Court, the LGBTQ+ Community Must Prepare for Attacks on Their Rights
There’s an old adage that advises people to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.With the U.S. Supreme Court now dominated by a conservative majority that apparently has no shame in overturning well-established rulings that protect [...]
Roe v. Wade Was Just Overturned. Now What?
It is an all-hands-on-deck moment in Michigan and our nation. Today’s opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade should be a siren blaring in the night, waking people up from every corner of the country and motivating them to [...]
A Major Step Forward': New Medicaid Policy Will Finally Recognize Gender-Confirming Surgeries as Medically Necessary
Aleisha, a trans woman of color with masculine facial features, has endured decades of suffering. Because her face "outs" her as a transgender woman, she's had to deal with discrimination at work and when looking for housing. She's also been the [...]
Free to Be: Michigan's Dismissal of Gender Reassignment Requirement Is a Long Time Coming
"To hold that piece of paper brought tears to my eyes." That is how my friend and former ACLU of Michigan colleague Amy Hunter says it felt to finally obtain a birth certificate showing her true gender. A trans woman, Amy was forced to live most of [...]
ACLU: Crucial Court Cases Are Promising Sign for LGBTQ+ Civil Rights
A recent Michigan Court of Appeals decision in People v. Rogers points the way to civil rights protections for Michigan's LGBTQ+ community. In July 2018, Kimora Steuball, a transgender woman, had a terrifying encounter with Deonton Autez Rogers at a [...]
Viewpoint: Protect Trans Kids in Sports
They are at it again. After years of focusing on restrooms and locker rooms as an entry point for excluding trans people from public life, opponents of LGBTQ+ equality lately have shifted strategy to focus on excluding trans people, particularly [...]
Passing the Equality Act Will Honor Aimee Stephens' Legacy
Aimee Stephens has been on my mind a lot recently. I thought about her when President Joe Biden, on his first day in office, issued a sweeping executive order targeting discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. And I thought [...]
How the Trump 'Medical Conscience' Rule is Harming LGBTQ Liberty
In November a federal district judge in New York found that the Trump Administration lied. The Court also held that the Administration had overstepped its authority. Let me explain. In May 2019 the Administration issued its "Medical Conscience" [...]
Fighting for Our Rights 50 Years Post Stonewall
June 28, 1969. With no civil rights protections available for LGBTQ people and rampant harassment and brutality by law enforcement against our community and LGBTQ establishments, a group of brave men and women — including two transgender [...]
Supreme Court Takes Cases of People Fired for Being LGBTQ
Can a business fire someone because they're LGBTQ? The Supreme Court will soon tell us. After a funeral home outside Detroit fired Aimee Stephens because she is transgender, Aimee won a federal appeals court ruling that the firing violated the [...]
Adoption Case Settlement Win for LGBTQ Michiganders
This past Friday came the announcement that the ACLU of Michigan and the state of Michigan settled a lawsuit that we, the ACLU, had filed — challenging the state's practice of allowing state-contracted, taxpayer-funded foster care and adoption [...]