Fair and Equal Michigan received a key endorsement today from Business Leaders for Michigan, the executive roundtable organization representing the state’s largest employers. The organization announced their support for adding civil rights protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals in the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act because it is dedicated to making Michigan a Top Ten state for jobs, personal income and a healthy economy.
"Even with the recent Supreme Court ruling, LGTBQ Michiganders still do not have full equality in local employment, housing and public accommodations,” said Fair and Equal Michigan Co-Chair Trevor Thomas. “Business leaders across the state understand that we must do everything we can to make Michigan a welcoming place for top talent, and that includes amending the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to protect LGBTQ people. Fair and Equal Michigan is proud to have the support of Business Leaders for Michigan in our effort to move our citizen's initiative forward and we are confident that with their support we will be able to work together to ensure every Michigander has an equal chance to succeed.”
In addition to the endorsement, Business Leaders for Michigan announced a $100,000 contribution to the campaign from their political action committee. Beyond the support from BLM, Fair and Equal Michigan is proud to have received statements of support or contributions from more than 20 major Michigan organizations including:
- AFL-CIO
- Apple
- Bells Brewing
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
- Carpenters and Joiners of America
- Consumers Energy
- Delta Dental
- Dominos
- Dow
- DTE Energy
- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
- Flagstar Bank
- Ford
- Founders Brewing
- General Motors
- Herman Miller
- Kellogg Company
- Kelly Services
- Jackson National Life
- Michigan Education Association
- Rock Holdings
- TCF/Chemical Bank
- Whirlpool
“With nearly 200,000 signatures strong, we are all hands-on deck to collect the remaining signatures and pass Michigan’s first-ever LGBTQ rights law. The Court gave us until October, setting up a Lame-Duck defining moment on equal rights in the Legislature. The support of Business Leaders for Michigan is another critical step toward ensuring we have the resources to canvass the state and collect the required petition signatures on-time, on-budget and at the level of quality needed to bring our citizen's bill to the legislature,” said Thomas.
Fair and Equal Michigan was recently granted an extension of its original May 27 signature collection deadline by Michigan Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Stephens due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign now has until early October to collect the 347,047 valid petition signatures required to move its citizen’s bill in front of the state legislature. If the legislature does not approve Fair and Equal Michigan’s amendment, the issue will go on the state’s November 2022 election ballot.
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