(Source: MIRS.news, Published 02/09/2023) Efforts to insert language for “civil protections for religious organizations” into SB 4, which would expand civil rights protections to the LGBTQ+ community, died Thursday as the original bill moved out of committee.
The Senate’s Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety Committee took testimony on the bill with Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake), William Wagner, professor emeritus at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, and Tom Hickson, vice president of Public Policy and Advocacy Team for the Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC), asking to amend it to protect “religious consciousness.”
“I’m suggesting a bridge where we have a state and country so divided that maybe we can agree to agree on the simple thing – let’s protect everybody’s identity here,” Wagner said. “… I think that the law as written has the potential to be weaponized and used in an inappropriate way, but that’s not what we’re talking about here today. We’re talking about just adding that people of conscience also not be discriminated based on who they are.”
Hickson said that while all people are deserving of dignity, compassion and respect “regardless of their classification or orientation,” SB 4 as written will result in religious groups being taken into court because of their long-standing belief that marriage is between a man and a woman.
“Let’s protect faith-based organizations who have legitimate beliefs that differ from the majority,” he noted. SB 4 sponsor, Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield), countered that religion is already a protected class in the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Protection Act (ELCRA), and it is not appropriate to allow the government to allow religious discrimination against someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
“Why would we allow government only to deny LGBTQ rights in the name of religion when we never allow government to uplift LGBTQ rights in the name of religion?” Moss said.
Sen. Sue Shink (D-Ann Arbor), who is Catholic, said she does not believe Catholic beliefs or faith requires discrimination against someone who belongs to the LGBTQ+ community.
The committee defeated Runestad's amendment 2-5 with Runestad and Sen. Ruth Johnson (R-Holly) voting in favor. The committee then voted 5-1 to move SB 4 to a floor vote. Runestad voted no and Johnson passed.
Prior attempts to move similar legislation during the Republican-led Legislature went nowhere.
“This is just a fundamental issue of morals and the rights of all people to enjoy equal access to the fruits of our great nation,” said Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor). “This has been a long time coming.”
Currently, the state's civil rights act, which was signed into law in 1976, prohibits discrimination based on protected statuses, including religion, race, color, national original, age, sex or marital status.
In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriages are legal, but Justice Clarence Thomas called on his colleagues to reconsider due process precedents on same-sex marriage in his opinion that helped overturn Roe v. Wade.
In July, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that ELCRA provides protection based on sexual orientation.
The MCC also wanted to remove protections for transgender people by narrowing the definition of “sex” to mean the biological difference between males and females at birth.
However, some committee members felt the recommended changes would allow discrimination in the name of religion.
Hickson testified that the bill as written essentially allows faith-based organizations to become targets of litigation because they believe marriage is between a man and a woman.
Testimony from the state’s business community, including the Detroit and Grand Rapids chambers, Michigan Realtors, as well as DTE Energy and Consumers Energy, generally said expanding ELCRA to include protections for the LGBTQ+ community is the right thing to do.
“I can strongly echo the assertion that not only is SB 4 the right thing to do for individual rights, it is also the smart thing to do for the state of Michigan,” said Sandy Smith, president-elect of Michigan Realtors, who said she spoke also as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Trevor Thomas, executive director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Consumer's Energy, added: “No person should fear the loss of career opportunities or employment simply because of who they are or who they love.”
The bill is expected to pass the Senate. The only outstanding question would be if it's the House or Senate version that makes it to the Governor's desk.
