Todd Heywood
Breaking:Anti-LGBT Rally At State Capitol
State Rep. Tom Hooker, R-Jackson, praying with two rally participants Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015. Hooker introduced a resolution calling on state elected officials to ignore the June 26 SCOTUS decision making marriage equality the law of the land. Over [...]
Analysis: It's Time To Retire The Medical Category Of AIDS
"Cancer is first of all a disease of the body's geography, in contrast to syphilis and AIDS, whose definition depends on constructing a temporal sequence of stages," wrote Susan Sontag in her 1987 essay "AIDS and Its Metaphors." And while much has [...]
News Analysis: The Pre-ballot Battle
Dana Nessel Two weeks ago Dana Nessel, the attorney who first brought the DeBoer case — one of four marriage cases decided by the Supreme Court in June which led to full marriage equality in the United States — announced that she was driving an [...]
Nearly 500 Dems Gather To Hear Castro, Others
Nearly 500 Democrats and supporters gathered in the first major fundraising event in West Michigan Saturday night to hear Julian Castro, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Castro is regularly mentioned as a likely vice presidential [...]
Adding White To The Rainbow: New Leadership Arrives At Equality Michigan
Stephanie White Age: 46 Hometown: Kansas City Metro area Current Home: Ann Arbor Education: Bachelor's degree from Texas Christian University Marital Status: Married nine years to Emma; one son, age 5. Work experience: Political Director of [...]
Equality Michigan Appoints New Board Members
Equality Michigan, the statewide LGBT organization, has announced four new board members. But one of those appointments is raising eyebrows. Jim Murray, president of AT&T Michigan, was at the center of a firestorm of controversy last year as the [...]
Crisis': LGBT College Students Nearly Twice As Likely To Experience Sexual Violence
"Absolutely yes, there is a crisis." That's how Yvonne Siferd, victim services director at Equality Michigan, summarized her response to a huge national survey on campus climates and sexual assault at 27 U.S. universities, including the University [...]
Federal Court Rules Michigan HIV Confidentiality Law Doesn't Apply To Governments
In June, the Federal District Court in Detroit ruled that Michigan's confidentiality law, which subjects those who reveal HIV testing information and medical files to potential criminal and civil actions, does not apply to "government entities." The [...]
Michigan Supreme Court Orders Reconsideration Of Custody Case Involving Lesbian Parents
LANSING – On Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court ordered the Michigan Court of Appeals to reconsider its findings in a custody dispute between an upper peninsula couple – Jennifer Stankevich and Leann Milliron. The couple married in 2007 in Canada. [...]
Courser Resigns, Gamrat Expelled From State House
Dale G. Young /Detroit News via AP LANSING — Tea party conservative lawmakers Reps. Cindy Gamrat, R-Plainwell, and Todd Courser, R-Lapeer, are no longer representatives in the Michigan House. After a marathon session of the House — which began at [...]
Feds Propose Expansion Of Insurance Rule To Require Trans Related Care
Federal health officials have taken the first step in creating federal rules which would require all insurance plans to cover medically necessary transition related care for transgender people. "Hopefully soon, transgender people throughout the [...]
Political Hors D'oeuvres: Courser, Gamrat Affair Reveals Larger Policy Concern
Hey! Hey you! Wanna see the pages and pages of documents amassed by the Michigan House Business Office during its investigation into whether or not Reps. Todd Courser, R-Lapeer, and Cindy Gamrat, R-Plainwell, abused public resources to cover up [...]