LANSING, Mich., June 19, 2020 — State Rep. Jon Hoadley (D-Kalamazoo) and state Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) — members of the Michigan Legislature’s LGBTQ Caucus — introduced House Resolution 281 and Senate Resolution 123 recently to recognize June 2020 as Pride Month in the state of Michigan.
“At its core, Pride Month has always been about celebrating the efforts of all those who fight for fairness and equality in the face of tremendous adversity — while taking time to acknowledge how far we still need to go,” said Hoadley. “In 2020, no one should be forced to continue living their lives in fear of senseless violence, bigotry and prejudice because of who they are — no matter if it’s based on the color of their skin or who they love. Even as this Pride Month takes on a new meaning for all of us following the Supreme Court’s recent decision, we must continue the fight against injustice in all its forms. This is the common struggle of all Americans, of all people, who wish to see a future where we are united by love and compassion, not hate.”
The month of June was originally dedicated as Pride Month in recognition of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, a pivotal moment in the history of the LGBTQ rights movement. Today, Pride Month is celebrated in hundreds of cities across the nation and throughout the world.
“The people of Michigan have always been at the frontlines in the fight for social progress, and our leadership is needed now more than ever before,” said state Rep. Tim Sneller (D-Burton). “The actions we take today will determine what kind of home our state will be to the generations that follow us. We need to be clear that discrimination, of any kind, has no place in Michigan.”
Hoadley, Sneller and Moss have also routinely called for an expansion of Michigan’s Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) to explicitly forbid discrimination based on an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Last year, Gov. Whitmer, Lt. Gov. Gilchrist and Equality Michigan joined with members of the LGBTQ Caucus to urge the Legislature to enact these important protections.
“Even decades after the uprising at Stonewall — a movement that began as a rebellion against police brutality, propelled especially by queer people of color — and the Supreme Court’s recent historic ruling, LGBTQ Michiganders can still be evicted from their homes or denied public accommodations for no other reason than who they love and how they identify,” said Moss. “This movement has been a long and painful journey, but our steady march toward justice continues undeterred. We’ve proposed a policy solution, and our colleagues must join us to expand ELCRA to ensure the LGBTQ community is afforded equal protection under the law.”
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