The Michigan Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether Michigan’s civil rights law protects people from discrimination based on sexual orientation.
That order was made public today.
The Michigan Department of Civil Rights is appealing a lower court ruling.
The question is whether Michigan’s civil rights law protects against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The Legislature has never taken up proposals to expand Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to specifically cover LGBTQ rights. But the state Department of Civil Rights says it does protect against discrimination based on "sexual orientation" because it protects against discrimination based on "sex".
The Supreme Court agreed to bypass the state Court of Appeals to take the case right away. The court’s four Democratic justices voted “yes.” The three Republican justices voted “no.”
The first round of briefs is due October 25th, but no date is set for oral arguments.
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