LGBTQ+

Michigan Supreme Court’s 5-2 ruling means sexual orientation and gender identity is protected under Michigan’s anti-discrimination law.

The Michigan Supreme Court said that the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of an individual’s sexual orientation.

LANSING, MI – The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Thursday that sexual orientation is protected under the state’s civil rights law, delivering a big win for LGBTQ rights. They argued the Michigan Department of Civil Rights did not have authority to investigate claims of LGBTQ discrimination under the 1976 Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. Michigan Supreme Court will soon decide. More on MLive:Sexual orientation is protected under civil rights law, AG Nessel argues to Michigan Supreme CourtWedding venue that declined to host same-sex marriage ceremony sues Michigan Department of Civil RightsDoes Michigan’s civil rights law apply to LGTBQ people? Michigan Supreme Court will decide.

Olympic gold medalist Tom Daley protested intolerance toward the LGBTQ+ community at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser is receiving praise from social media after gracefully shutting down an awkward question during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new LGBTQ+ shelter.

"You can't protect human rights in Ukraine without a gun now," a Ukrainian fighter says.

We are angry. We want our children safe.

Ricky Dubose, a Georgia man who was recently sentenced to death in the killings of two corrections officers, has died in prison of an apparent suicide. Dubose fatally shot the guards five years ago during an attempted escape.

Thousands of people filled the streets of the Big Apple to celebrate Pride during the annual parade.

LGBTQ community across the country wonders "Are we next?" after Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

BAY CITY, MI - Bay City took a step to celebrate Pride Month by issuing a special proclamation to recognize the LGBTQ+ community. Mayor Kathleen Newsham issued a proclamation during the Monday, June 20 meeting declaring June LGBTQ+ Pride Month in Bay City. Great Lakes Bay Pride is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year as well as the return of the Great Lakes Bay Pride Festival after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In Newsham’s proclamation, Bay City residents were encouraged to celebrate the upcoming anniversary and celebration for Great Lakes Bay Pride with the LGBTQ+ community. Read more on MLiveGreat Lakes Bay Pride Festival returning for Pride Month 2022Great Lakes Bay Pride celebrates Pride Month and 20 years of advocacy, community

A gay couple in Metro Detroit is hammering out hate and breaking barriers in the construction industry.

As we all know, June is Pride Month, and it’s a time for the LGBTQ+ community to come together and celebrate being out and proud.

Mark Burns described the fight for LGBTQ+ rights as a treasonous attempt to “destabilize the republic.”

For decades, gay bars served as premiere gathering spaces for adults identifying as LGBTQ+. “There are amazingly wonderful pockets of acceptance and inclusion in our region,” said Lee Ann Keller, president of the board of directors for the LGBTQ+-centric nonprofit, Great Lakes Bay Pride. Even before he came out as homosexual in his late 30s, Romo understood the importance of gay bars and clubs to members of that community historically in his hometown. Scott Ellis, the 31-year-old executive director of Great Lakes Bay Pride, was a patron at The Mixx when drag queen appearances attracted crowds that packed the building. “Queer bars across the country, unfortunately, I think ran their lifespan in smaller urban areas like Saginaw,” said Ellis, who is gay.

The Motor City Pride Festival draws more than 40,000 people to Downtown Detroit.

If you are looking to celebrate the month, check out these events happening around Michigan.

Amid a flurry of “parental rights” legislation limiting how educators talk about sexuality and identity, LGBTQ parents feel left out of the conversation.

For the past year, activists with LGBT Detroit have been paying close attention to reproductive rights legislation in the event of a challenge.

In "I Kissed Shara Wheeler," Casey McQuiston wants readers to take another look at the South and the queer kids still there.

It's National Crime Victims' Rights Week, a time to raise awareness of victims' rights and services. Equality Michigan is holding three community resource fairs this...

I have written enough jarring statements in regards to children and sexuality, so this one is coming right on par: There is nothing wrong with 14-year-old Zaya Wade kissing her boyfriend.

The 30-year-old biology teacher said states are trying to make often-difficult journeys for transgender people even harder.

The 30-year-old biology teacher said states are trying to make often-difficult journeys for transgender people even harder.

Charlee Corra Disney, who came out as transgender, said they regretted not speaking out earlier against Florida's "don't say gay" bill.

Michigan Medicine was recently ranked a top medical institution for LGBTQ+ equity by the Human Rights Campaign.

The bill does not specifically target the LGBTQ+ community, but it’s designed to exclude them in this new common-law marriage.

"Curriculum about gender identity and sexuality has no place in K-3 classrooms, period," the bill's sponsor said.

Elise Malary was a bright light in the LGBTQ+ community and beyond – a friend, a sister, a fighter.

A Barrington mother called the incident in which her son and his boyfriend were hit with gel pellets "more like a hate crime" than a TikTok challenge.

Michigan political leaders, police, and prosecutors are speaking out and pushing for change to protect the LGBTQ+ community.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is forming a task force within the department to support LGBTQ+ families who want to foster or adopt children. The MiFamily Advancement and Leadership for LGBTQ+ Youth (ALLY) and Families task force will assess how the child welfare system supports LGBTQ+ families, engage the LGBTQ+ community and learn from their perspectives, and make recommendations for how the department can best serve these families. Related: LGBTQ+ couples can be denied adoptions by religious agencies under latest MDHHS settlement - mlive.comIn both cases, the faith-based adoption agencies challenged the MDHHS non-discrimination policy which stated adoption agencies with state contracts can’t turn away prospective LGBTQ+ parents. Peter Spadafore and Dr. Stacie Gibson will co-chair the task force. Other members of the task force will be announced soon, according to MDHHS.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced it is developing a new task force supporting LGBTQ+ families who are interested in adopting or fostering children.

KALAMAZOO, MI — OutFront Kalamazoo, one of Michigan’s largest LGBTQ+ community centers, announced Tuesday that its annual pride festival will once again be held in person in June 2022. After two years of virtual celebrations due to the coronavirus pandemic, Kalamazoo Pride will take place June 3-4 at Arcadia Creek Festival Place, at 145 E. Water St. in Kalamazoo, the organization announced in a news release. “This year’s pride (festival) is a critical one,” said OutFront Kalamazoo Executive Director Amy Hunter. Since the start of the modern LGBTQ+ liberation movement in the 1970s, independent pride events have sprung up worldwide. “For two years, we hosted a virtual pride (festival) to keep our community safe,” Hunter said.

KALAMAZOO, MI — OutFront Kalamazoo is in the process of preparing to open Kalamazoo’s first long-term transitional housing facility that will cater primarily to LGBTQ+ youth. The nonprofit organization, which serves the region’s LGBTQ+ community, purchased the property in December for $25,000 from the Kalamazoo Public Housing Commission, according to Kalamazoo County property records. The organization expects to be ready to house its first residents in the space this spring, OutFront Kalamazoo executive director Amy Hunter told MLive/The Kalamazoo Gazette. Multiple community partners — including LISC Kalamazoo, The Irving S. Gilmore Foundation and Kalamazoo Community Foundation — worked with the Kalamazoo Public Housing Commission to renovate the property after the housing commission purchased it in 2020, Hunter said. The housing commission, she said, used grant funds to purchase the home in 2020.

Chrissy Chlapecka started posting on TikTok out of boredom during the pandemic, and her first viral video caught her by surprise.

KALAMAZOO, MI — Do you know someone who has made a significant contribution to the work of LGBTQ+ equality in Southwest Michigan in the past year? Nominations for recipients of the 2022 #AlwaysOutFront Awards are being accepted online beginning Tuesday, Feb. 1. “We are excited to have our AlwaysOutFront Awards ceremony in person this year with COVID precautions in place,” said Amy Hunter, executive director of OutFront Kalamazoo, in a statement. “We encourage the community to nominate those individuals who have helped LGBTQ+ individuals so that we may acknowledge and honor them.”The annual awards began being presented out in 2009. Prior honorees or individuals who currently serve on the staff or board of directors of OutFront Kalamazoo are ineligible for nomination.

It limits MDHHS’s ability to enforce its non-discrimination policy under certain circumstances, including the agencies’ right to decline LGBTQ+ couples looking to adopt or foster children on religious grounds. Under the prior settlement, adoption agencies could deny adoption services to LGBTQ+ people only if the children involved were not referred to them by the state. Now, faith-based adoption agencies are once again able to deny service to LGBTQ+ couples if they believe there is a conflict with their religious values. MDHHS said it will soon announce plans to further build upon its engagement with LGBTQ+ families including assessment of any service gaps or program enhancements necessary to meet the needs of LGTBQ+ families. “I applaud MDHHS’s commitment to supporting LGBTQ+ families and our state’s most vulnerable children,” said Attorney General Dana Nessel.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said it is expanding support to LGBTQ+ families who are looking to adopt or foster children in need.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said it is committed to ensuring LGBTQ+ families feel welcome and valued as foster and adoptive parents.

Green wrote in a letter that the church has "hindered global progress in women's rights, civil rights and racial equality, and LGBTQ+ rights."

A billionaire who is believed to be the wealthiest person originally from Utah has formally resigned his membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and rebuked the faith over social issues and LGBTQ rights. Jeff T. Green has pledged to donate 90% of his estimated $5 billion advertising-technology wealth, starting with a donation to a LGBTQ-rights group in the state, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. Green said he hasn’t been active in the faith widely known as Mormon for more than a decade but wanted to make his departure official and remove his name from membership records, he said in a Monday letter to church President Russell M. Nelson.

Pansexual Twitch streamer Cameron Bess fulfilled a lifelong dream to go to space on Saturday (Dec. 11) on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket.

The U.S Attorney's office says Robert Fehring has sent threats to LGBTQ+ organizations and individuals for the past eight years.

KALAMAZOO, MI — OutFront Kalamazoo has its sights set on unifying all members of the community to help improve the lives of LGBTQ+ youth and adults. Funds raised from the drive will help pay for the organization’s LGBTQ+ educational programs and services in 2022. “For nearly two years, so much of our lives have been on hold,” said OutFront Kalamazoo Executive Director Amy Hunter. “Now, as the pandemic recedes and daily life discovers a new version of normal, OutFront Kalamazoo must find new solutions to the real-life issues faced by LGBTQ+ youth and adults in our area. “Every gift makes a difference and helps ensure forward movement in advocacy, programming, support services and housing for the LGBTQ+ community.

Influencers Whitney and Megan Bacon-Evans say the rules are unfair to LGBT people.

Starting Nov. 10 there is going to be a non-binary option for Michigan’s driver’s licenses and state ID cards. Some in the LGBTQ+ community are very supportive of this change.

Thousands of people enjoy the colourful procession through the city centre's streets.

The new guidance will apply to veterans who were forced from service under the policy and given "other than honorable discharges" due to their sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status.

KALAMAZOO, MI – People gathered in Bronson Park Saturday to call for more support for the LGBTQ+ community. The rally was held to demand change for the inequalities and disparities the LGBTQ+ community faces, according to rally organizer OutFront Kalamazoo’s website. Awareness about the disparities in health, employment, education and more increased during the health and economic crisis in the last 18 months, OutFront Kalamazoo noted on its website. The rally was held to “reenergize, reunite and raise our voices to demand change,” according to the rally website. Related: Kalamazoo Pride events kick off with virtual awards ceremony Friday nightOutFront Kalamazoo held June 2020 and 2021 Pride events virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic.

If I can help or influence one person, all the negative comments will have been worth it

The media watchdog is the latest group to leave the workplace scheme, saying it must be impartial.

It's clear: Chris Meloni is a zaddy. For five years, Meloni played a bisexual imprisoned killer, Chris Keller, on Oz. The HBO jailhouse drama put audiences through the ringer, and had Meloni in all states of undress.

It turns out we were always here and queer, we were just kept out of the history books.

Oakland County commissioners have approved implementation of a body-worn camera system for sheriff’s deputies.

A 3-year-old girl has been hospitalized after suffering from a gunshot wound in Benton Harbor, authorities said.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the Michigan State Capitol on Aug. 6 to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

An elderly man was rescued nearly 11 hours after falling about 30 feet (9.1 meters) from a tree and injuring his back in a remote, wooded area of western Michigan.

As Canada plans to open its border to vaccinated Americans Monday, a labor dispute began at 6 a.m. on Aug. 6, slowing traffic.

This year, the African World Festival at the Charles H. Wright Museum returns, making it the 38th anniversary of the event.

Comedian Dave Chappelle is sticking around Detroit for a while, adding additional Detroit shows to his schedule.

The annual event will kick off at 10 a.m. with a live stream that will last until 9 p.m.

Liliana Reyes and Jeynce Poindexter work to help other women in Metro Detroit through the Ruth Ellis Center and at the Trans Sistas of Color Project.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel made history as the first openly gay person elected to a Michigan statewide office.

Play a game of bingo that's not like how you played it as a kid!

The COVID pandemic has led to a dramatic rise in death by suicide for young people who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Pronto! is a go-to spot for brunch and supporting Pride month

Affirmations, an LGBTQ+ community center in Ferndale, is making some changes.

For years, Ferndale has been the epicenter of Pride Month events in Metro Detroit.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Jim Toy Community Center announced Tuesday that the doors of its physical office space, located at 319 Braun Court, would close at the end of January. Jim Toy Community Center has also launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with the expenses of the volunteer-run nonprofit. If you can, please help by contributing to the GoFundMe Campaign to ensure a vibrant and active countywide #LGBTQ resource center exists in the future. After the Jim Toy Community Center board of directors meeting in December, Joe Schoch was elected as board president in 2021. He is replacing Travis Radina, who was elected as an Ann Arbor City Council member representing Ward 3 in November.

Oct. 11 is National Coming Out Day, and for many LGBTQ+ Americans, there are many reasons to celebrate their Pride. National Coming Out Day has been celebrated for 32 years now, and it’s an important reminder on just how far the queer community has come since earlier times. There was an entire generation of LGBTQ Americans who had live inside the closet because of laws and discrimination. So if you’re proud to be out and want it to shout it from the rooftops, tell us about it below! If you have advice for people still in the closet struggling with their identity, maybe offer some advice, and tell us how your life has improved since coming out.

Observe National Coming Out Day by joining in on the festivities happening around Metro Detroit. It's National Coming Out Day and luckily Detroit is not short of things to do in support of our LGBTQ+ community. "The goal is to erase shame, stigma and to help end violence," the Facebook event page states. Okay, so this isn't an event explicitly celebrating National Coming Out Day, but it was one of the first major productions that portrayed homosexuality in an honest and open manner. More information: Facebook event.

It's National Coming Out Day and luckily Detroit is not short of things to do in support of our LGBTQ+ community. More information: Today@WayneNational Coming Out Day at the Marvin Lee BuildingWhen: 5:30 p.m.Where: LGBT Detroit, 20025 Greenfield Rd., DetroitAn all-day discussion dedicated to exploring the facets of the community. "The goal is to erase shame, stigma and to help end violence," the Facebook event page states. Okay, so this isn't an event explicitly celebrating National Coming Out Day, but it was one of the first major productions that portrayed homosexuality in an honest and open manner. More information: Facebook event.

DETROIT Here is what you missed on Sunday's episode of Flashpoint:We took a closer look at Michigan's report card as we mark Pride Month. Looking at the presidential race, is America ready for a gay president complete with a first husband, or is that enough to disqualify Pete Buttigieg from serious consideration? We put together a fascinating roundtable of voices from those who walk that walk every day. Segment One:Richard Czuba, founder, Glengariff Group, Inc; Nancy Schlichting, MSU Board of Trustees; Jeynce Poindexter, Victims Advocate, Equality Michigan and Buzz Thomas of Thomas Group Consulting. Segment Two:Lou Glazer, President, Michigan Future, Inc.

Alex Joseph, a spokesperson for YouTube, told CNN Business in a statement that all content on its site is subject to the same policies. The lawsuit also claims YouTube denied an LGBTQ news show the right to advertise and thereby increase its viewership on the platform. According to the lawsuit, YouTube apologized to Divino for what they said was a "misunderstanding" and eventually agreed to run the ad. Tensions between YouTube and some members of the LGBTQ community have repeatedly surfaced in recent years. At the time, YouTube told CNN Business: "We're proud of the incredible LGBTQ+ voices on our platform and take concerns like these very seriously."