A Michigan state commission recently determined that protections against discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation are included in Michigan’s current ban on sex discrimination. This recent decision came after a 5-0 vote by the Michigan Civil Rights Commission approving this interpretation of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. As a result of this decision, Read More

  New Jersey law requires school children to receive numerous vaccinations when they reach a certain age, but there are exceptions for parents who want to avoid a vaccination for religious reasons. Some physicians have commented that this loophole in current law is too expansive and can seriously harm children. In response to these concerns, Read More

  In 2018, numerous anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced throughout the United States, but recently some of these laws became bills. Most noticeably, the states of Kansas and Oklahoma recently signed laws that allow adoption and foster care agencies to follow their religious beliefs when placing children with new families. The Details of These Laws In Read More

  Washington’s Governor Jay Inslee recently signed into law SB 7522, which protects LGBTQ individuals from conversion therapy. The bill is the result of efforts by the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Equal Rights Washington. These groups have long advocated for the prohibition of conversion therapy throughout the country. In response to this decision, Read More

The United States Supreme Court recently refused to become part of a legal battle against the state of Mississippi regarding an anti-LGBTQ law. The law in question allows both private businesses and state employees to deny services to members of the LGBTQ community based solely on religious grounds. The law took effect on October 10, 2017 Read More

  Georgia’s Senate recently passed a bill, referred to as SB 375 or the “Keep Faith in Adoption and Foster Care Act,” that has the potential to enable child welfare organizations to prevent same-sex parents from adopting a child based on the organization’s beliefs. If the bill passes through the Georgia House, adoption organizations would Read More

  A group of Satanists at an organization called the Satanic Temple recently challenged a Missouri law that requires women who want an abortion to receive a booklet stating that life begins at conception. They took their case to the Missouri Supreme Court by arguing that this requirement violates the religious beliefs of women. This Read More

  Morgantown, West Virginia recently passed a non-discrimination law to protect LGBTQ individuals as part of a human rights ordinance. This addition came when the seven-person Morgantown City Council voted unanimously to add non-discrimination language to the city’s existing ordinance. While this might seem like a small change, Morgantown is only the 11th city in Read More

  The state of California recently became part of LGBTQ history when its Board of Education approved 10 history textbooks that include LGBTQ events for K-8 classrooms. This decision made California the first state to approve of such textbooks. More interestingly, the California Department of Education rejected two textbooks that did not include details about Read More

In two letters from August, 41 House and Senate members urged the Michigan Civil Rights Commission to adopt an interpretive statement to expand a law’s application. Concurrently, the group Equality Michigan asked the commission to contemplate whether they should investigate sexual orientation and gender identity complaints under the definition of sex discrimination that is already Read More