LGBT Rights

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.

Among the series of executive orders President Trump issued last week are policies rolling back DEI initiatives and federally recognizing only two genders. Ann Arbor’s pioneering LGBT organization, the Jim Toy Community Center, is preparing to address these challenges. WEMU’s Ana Longoria has more.

A congresswoman from Ann Arbor says House Republicans are wasting time focusing on things like transgender use of bathrooms. WEMU’s Kevin Meerschaert has more on the stance from 6th District Democrat, Debbie Dingell.

Eastern Michigan University is hosting a non-partisan public panel today about the role of women and gender in the upcoming 2024 election. WEMU’s Ana Longoria has more.

Fifty years ago, in June 1972, the first LGBTQ+ pride celebration was held in Detroit. It was a seminal moment now captured in illustrations by Isabel Clare Paul in a comic book: "Come Out! In Detroit." Join Deb Polich on this edition of "creative:impact" to meet Isabel and also learn the important role played by Ann Arbor activists at the start of the movement.

As Pride Month continues, we remember a trailblazing, social justice force that forever changed Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County. Jim Toy passed away this year at the age of 91, but his work not only lives on, but it also continues to grow in his name. WEMU's David Fair is joined by Jim Toy Community Center board member, Leigh Greden. Together, they explore the community and attitudinal changes Mr. Toy brought forth on behalf of the LGBTQ community and the work his legacy requires to be carried forward.