December 11, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Michigan’s Democrat Attorney General Dana Nessel has announced her intentions to appeal a Court of Claims ruling that state discrimination law does not require companies to serve same-sex unions.
The Detroit News reports that the case concerns the Sturgis wedding venue Rouch World, which had declined to host a same-sex “wedding”; and Marquette business Uprooted Electrolysis, which denied service to an “individual transitioning from a man to a woman,” both for religious reasons.
The Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) forbids discrimination on the basis of “religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status,” The Hill notes. While the Michigan Civil Rights Commission interpreted it to extend to sexual orientation and gender identity in 2018, Judge Christopher Murray ruled Monday that the law did apply to gender identity but not to sexual orientation.
“If defendants determine that a person treated someone who ‘identifies’ with a gender different than the gender that he or she was born as, then that is dissimilar treatment on the basis of sex, and they are entitled to redress that violation through the existing (Michigan Department of Civil Rights) procedures,” he wrote. But he also determined that “sex” could not be taken to mean “sexual orientation” according to a 1990 Court of Appeals precedent.
“I respectfully disagree with the Michigan Court of Claims on its ruling in this case as it relates to sexual orientation,” said Nessel, invoking the U.S. Supreme Court’s infamous decision this summer in Bostock v. Clayton County, which redefined “sex discrimination” in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to add sexual orientation and gender identity, in addition to its original biological meaning.
“We intend to submit that all Michigan residents are entitled to protection under the law – regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation — in our appeal to this decision,” she declared.
Nessel’s appeal would first go to the Court of Appeals, and potentially up to the Michigan Supreme Court after that, which would have a Democrat majority by the time the case is heard.
States are blocking pro-lifers from sharing the simple message “Choose Life” on their vehicles!
Please SIGN this joint petition between LifeSite and The Children First Foundation to make "Choose Life" license plates available in every state! Tell governors and state officials to allow this pro-life freedom of speech.
Advertising industry statistics show that, for the typical vehicle, a “Choose Life” plate and its simple, powerful message will be seen by other drivers 30,000 to 80,000 times a year.
And, across the U.S., “Choose Life” vehicle license plates (or tags) have raised more than $28 million for pro-life pregnancy centers, maternity homes, safe havens, and adoption centers, varying with each state.
The potential for expanding the “Choose Life” license plate program to new states and new members is incredible – but only if citizens are allowed to have the plates!
It is appalling that seventeen U.S. states do not allow their citizens the right to put “Choose Life” license plates on their vehicles.
The plates have been called pro-life “scare tactics” by Planned Parenthood and unlawful or hateful “private speech” by pro-abortion lawyers. The “Choose Life” message, however, is one of pure love that scares nobody except those who profit from death.
It is unacceptable that we are blocked from our God-given and Constitutional right to spread the message of love and life for vulnerable unborn and newborn children.
Your signature on this petition – no matter where you live – will help to get the “Choose Life” license plate program in states where it is not yet permitted!
Please SIGN and SHARE this petition to make a real difference in persuading these state governments and Departments of Motor Vehicles to “Choose Life.”
Consider, for example, our experience in New York, where Governor Andrew Cuomo is a nationally-recognized advocate of abortion and has been a relentless opponent of the pro-life movement.
Cuomo has blocked the approval of “Choose Life” license plates in NY, despite widespread support for these truly positive messages of love and life. A headline in the New York Post declared, “The DMV Acts Like We Live in Pyongyang.”
And, in nearby New Jersey and Connecticut, similar hurdles were faced.
But we took the fight to the government officials and even to federal court. And, with the help of petitions, we were able to get “Choose Life” license plates on the road in both states.
It is high time for us to convert EVERY state in America to choose life.
Your signature on this petition - no matter where you live - will help make that happen by placing “Choose Life” license plates on tens of thousands more cars.
For love, for life, for the babies, please SIGN and SHARE our worldwide petition to tell state officials and politicians to stop blocking approval of the “Choose Life” license plate!
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Please click on this link to read many past LifeSite articles on "Choose Life" license plates: https://www.lifesitenews.com/tags/tag/choose+life+plates
Michigan’s first “married” lesbian leader, the pro-abortion Nessel is no stranger to opposing the religious rights of Michiganders when they conflict with her left-wing values, from Catholic media organizations to religious adoption agencies. Last year, her office announced it was creating a database of “hate and bias incidents” that did not rise to the level of crime or civil violation — i.e., lawful speech and other activity deemed “hateful” by the state.