News & Commentary

Some days, I hardly recognize my government and the way it is supposed to comport to the principles of democracy and constitutional fairness. This week we had the Senate majority doggedly pushing for a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, supported by less than 15 percent of American public, which could leave up to 26 million Americans uninsured.  Few in the Senate know what they are voting on because the various drafts of the legislation are cooked up behind closed doors, with no hearings, no opportunity for public comment, and little debate.

Shameful. Political pandering. Heartless. Cowardly. A terrible message to send to some of our most vulnerable youth.

The results of last month’s election sent shockwaves through many communities, not the least of which were transgender communities. For many trans and gender non-conforming people (TGNC) – already at heightened risk from increasingly dangerous policy proposals– the feeling turned from intense anxiety to one of palpable fear.

A remarkable event quietly took place recently in Saugatuck. A panel of courageous women and men took the stage at the local arts center to share with area residents their experience as transgender people.

I’m a “glass half full” kind of guy, but it hasn’t been easy these past two months to feel optimistic about prospects for LGBT equality in Michigan.

The verdict is in, it seems: LGBT co-parents can have their kids unilaterally taken away from them by their former partner (the legal parent) - and the highest court in Michigan has essentially said it doesn't give a damn.

It isn’t really about bathrooms, is it?

The number of Americans who say they know a transgender person is on the rise but, “knowing” a transgender person and being familiar with their lives and the challenges transgender people face every day are two vastly different things. To make that difference tangible to non-transgender people and especially to those who make policy and report about us in the news, transgender people must effectively engage with lawmakers, the media and the public around them.

UPDATE: On July 5, 2016, the Michigan Court of Appeals officially made it more difficult for same-sex co-parents to have parental rights with their children after a break-up. The Court reversed a favorable decision in Lake v Putnam, where our client Michelle Lake co-parented her son with her former partner, Kerri Putnam prior to marriage equality being available in Michigan.  After the parties broke up, Putnam took their son away and refused to allow Michelle to have any contact.  She filed a petition for parenting time arguing that she was an equitable parent and had legal standing to do so.  The trial court agreed and Putnam appealed.  Without even considering the best interests of their son, the Court of Appeals majority stated that because the parties were not married (even though Michigan law unconstitutionally prohibited them from doing so), Michelle had no parental rights nor legal standing to be able to see her son.