Michigan Messenger-LGBT

Neighbors in Aurburn Hills were greeted with colorful Easter eggs Sunday — but inside, the eggs were filled with racist and anti-gay rhetoric. Brought to neighbors not by the Easter bunny, but by Aryan Nations, a white nationalist group. The Oakland Press reports the eggs were stuffed with printed fliers and did not appear to be directed at any one person. The paper also reports there are no suspects in the case, although the fliers did have a website on them. Fox 2 in Detroit reports that cops say there are “no local groups that are claiming responsibility.” The Southern Poverty Law ...

At a recent forum for the Republican candidates for Secretary of State, a defiant Rep. Paul Scott refused to back down from his unusual strategy of targeting transgendered people and refusing to allow them to change the gender designation on their driver’s licenses. As the Messenger previously reported, Rep. Scott entered the race for the Secretary of State job by declaring that he would “make it a priority to ensure transgender individuals will not be allowed to change the sex on their driver’s license in any circumstance.” Asked what problem this was intended to solve, he told the ...

Cameron Lynch, a Republican strategist with The Lynch Group, says Republican candidates should zip it when it comes to social conservative issues. In a blog on Politico over the weekend, the strategist used the example of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s November win. “Nonetheless, biting his tongue on abortion, gay marriage and other hot button social issues (on which I’m sure he was more than willing to speak) netted him the support of independents and moderate conservatives who either stayed home or voted for Obama in 2008.” Of course that advice appears to be falling on deaf ears in the ...

Michigan Equality and the Triangle Foundation, probably the two most influential gay rights organizations in the state of Michigan, announced this morning that they are merging the two groups. While both groups have focused on equal rights for the LGBT community, they’ve generally gone about it in different ways. Michigan Equality was originally formed as a 501(c)(4) organization, which meant they could lobby the government, and their focus was primarily legislative. Triangle Foundation, on the other hand, tended to focus more on educational, civic and legal matters. They often involved ...

When Paul Scott, Republican candidate for Secretary of State, announced that he would “make it a priority” to make sure that no transgendered person could change their gender identity on their driver’s license, the reaction ranged from amusement to outrage. But he’s got a strategy and he’s sticking to it even if he has to reveal his ignorance in the process. In an AP article, he is quoted: Scott, a first-term lawmaker, doesn’t consider raising the issue a political ploy. “My personal belief is you are who your DNA says you are, regardless of what surgical procedures you may have ...

The Thomas More Law Center, founded by Tom Monaghan of Domino’s Pizza fame, has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of several Michigan religious leaders against the federal government over the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was passed into law last year. The plaintiffs include Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association – Michigan; Levon Yuille, pastor of The Bible Church in Ypsilanti, Michigan; René B. Ouellette, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Bridgeport, Michigan; and James Combs, pastor of four different churches in the state. ...

Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, has added his voice to a growing course of American leaders calling for the re-criminalization of homosexuality in the U.S. In an e-mail to Michigan Messenger, here’s how Glenn responded when asked if he supported the criminalization move proposed by the Family Research Council’s Peter Sprigg’s comments last week on Hardball: “The short answer to your question is yes, we believe that states should be free to regulate and prohibit behavior that’s a violation of community standards and a proven threat to public health ...

U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Livonia) has signed a letter, along with Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), demanding that President Barack Obama fire Harry Knox. The Congressmen along with leading Catholics sent the letter to Obama because Knox stood by a March 2009 comment by Knox in which he said the Pope was “hurting people in the name of Jesus.” That comment was made following Pope Benedict XVI March 2009 statement that condoms are part of the problem with HIV in Africa. During flight to Africa, the Pope told reporters: “I would say that this problem of AIDS cannot be overcome ...

Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, opened hearings on the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy by calling for the repeal of that policy and for gay and lesbian soldiers to be allowed to serve openly. The Lansing State Journal reports: Opening a hearing on the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy on gays in the military, Michigan Democrat and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin said it’s time to repeal what he considers a discriminatory policy that hurts military effectiveness. “I did not find the arguments used to justify ‘don’t ask, don’t ...

A proposal to prohibit transgendered persons from getting the gender marker on their driver’s license changed made by state Rep. Paul Scott (R-Grand Blanc), a candidate for the GOP nomination for Secretary of State, is continuing to make headlines. On Saturday, the Grand Rapids Press ran a story in which they interviewed Scott and other political faces about the proposal. Of interest, Scott appears to be backing off the original stridency of his announcement. Scott, a state representative from Grand Blanc, said he did not intend to provoke controversy. His pledge to deny gender change ...