LANSING, Mich., March 2, 2023 — State Rep. Mike McFall (D-Hazel Park) issued the following statement today after lengthy letters filled with hateful, anti-LGBTQ language and threats of harm were received this week at coffee shops in Lansing and Detroit, which resulted in the shops closing to protect the safety of their staff and customers:
“Discrimination, hate and bigotry have no home in our state, yet the unfortunate reality is that LGBTQ+ individuals still face harassment and mistreatment in many areas of life. I stand with The Gathering Coffee Company in Detroit that has been unfairly targeted with hate mail and threats, simply because they are living their authentic lives. This is not okay, not acceptable, and we — as a society — have the ability to stop this from happening if we stand up to hate.
“No one should be afraid to go to work and fear for their safety. It’s long past time for us to amend Michigan’s civil rights laws, so we can make our state a place where everyone is welcome, regardless of who they love. As your state representative, I am committed to making our community safer for all of us by supporting legislation that has been introduced to expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in Lansing to right this historic wrong that should have been corrected years ago.”