LGBT Rights

A handful of dignitaries and civil rights activists were on hand Tuesday morning for the annual Pride Flag-raising ceremony in front of the Washtenaw County Administration Building. WEMU’s Kevin Meerschaert has this report.

The organizers of Ypsi Pride have been navigating national concerns and local challenges to make Ypsilanti’s yearly pride event come together. WEMU’s Ana Longoria has more.

Many in the LGBTQ+ community are feeling under attack as President Trump's first 60 days in office have brought a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ actions. But Ypsilanti-area organizations and community members are supporting their LGBTQ+ neighbors in a variety of ways. That includes supportive health care and queer takeovers of public spaces around Ypsilanti. Rylee Barnsdale spoke with Cheers to Queers (C2Q) co-founder, Danya Youssef-Agha, who organized the recent "Queer Prom."

Bills that passed in the Michigan House on Thursday would ban transgender athletes from playing girls’ school sports. Colin Jackson has more.

Same-sex marriage is still banned in Michigan’s State Constitution and would become de jure law if the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 2015 ruling that legalized the practice. WEMU’s Ana Longoria has a local perspective on the matter.

Today, transgender individuals and their allies are celebrating the Transgender Day of Visibility. It highlights their contributions to society and the discrimination they encounter. WEMU’s Ana Longoria has more.

Saturday is the 11-year wedding anniversary for more than 300 gay and lesbian couples who were married in Michigan following a landmark court decision. The evening before, a federal judge in Detroit ruled Michigan’s same-sex marriage ban violated the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause. The decision sent hundreds of couples dashing to clergy and courthouses to get married while they could. We have more from Rick Pluta.

The Ann Arbor School Board is hearing from groups and organizations asking their allotted times to speak at meetings not be removed from the agenda. WEMU’s Kevin Meerschaert reports.

Older members of Ann Arbor’s LGBTQ+ community have limited places to connect, and some are coming together to share their concerns about the changing political and cultural climate. WEMU’s Ana Longoria has the story.

A Democratic state lawmaker has sponsored a proposal to strike the language of the dormant same-sex marriage ban from the Michigan Constitution. We have more from Rick Pluta.