LANSING, Mich. (FOX 2) - The LGBTQ community is optimistic that it will eventually make it illegal to fire someone or evict them because they are gay. it has three options to get there.
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Lansing effort underway to outlaw the right to fire or evict someone if they are gay
The LGBTQ community is optimistic that it will eventually make it illegal to fire someone or evict them because they are gay. It has three options to get there.
The movement believes it has gathered enough petition signatures to put this to a statewide vote next year and the polls suggest it would pass.
But Democratic Sen. Jeremy Moss who is gay is confident he'll get the GOP votes to get to the 18 votes he needs to pass this now.
"And I can tell you with absolute confidence we have the 18th vote, the 19th or 20th vote, so I know if we were to put this up for a vote in the Senate today, that it would pass," Moss said.
Over in the Michigan House, one Democrat contends enough Republicans will support this, but right now some do not want to co-sponsor it.
"There were Republicans I spoke to who are willing to vote for it but did not want to co-sponsor it. We would be able to get it through the House as well if it were to come up for a vote," said Rep. Laurie Pohutsky.
But there's the rub, getting it up for a vote. So far the Senate GOP leader Mike Shirkey and the House GOP Speaker Jason Wentworth has not signed off on allowing a vote and without that, the measure is dead.
This transgender advocate says either you are for us or against it but we'll win.
"We are no longer asking for permission to have respect for our lives and to be recognized as human beings. It's far long gone from that," said Jeynce Poindexter, Trans Sistas of Color Project. "We are not asking, we are pushing. You either want to be with us or you don't, but we're going."
If the bill dies, here's the third option for the moment, lawmakers have another chance to simply approve the petition drive proposal and if they don't, it automatically goes before the voters for you to decide in November 2022.