Michigan

DETROIT -- A Michigan man pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges on Wednesday, admitting that he assaulted a victim because he believed the man was gay, according to a statement by the U.S. Department of Justice. [ Read more → ]

DETROIT -- Former state assistant attorney general Andrew Shirvell was ordered to pay $4.5 million in damages after a federal jury on Thursday ruled that his blog -- "Chris Armstrong Watch" -- which attacked the former University of Michigan's openly gay student body president, was in fact defamation. [ Read more → ]

DETROIT -- Jury selection began Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit in a civil lawsuit against a former Assistant Attorney General of Michigan, who stands accused of stalking and defaming a gay former student government leader at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. [ Read more → ]

DETROIT -- A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought against the former University of Michigan student council president Chris Armstrong, the latest setback for Andrew Shirvell, the former Michigan assistant attorney general who was fired . [ Read more → ]

LANSING, Mich. -- A grievance officer of the state Civil Service Commission on Tuesday ruled that former Michigan assistant attorney general Andrew Shirvell had made a “media spectacle” of himself and the state's attorney general’s office after publishing a blog attacking the former University of Michigan student body president for his alleged “radical homosexual agenda." [ Read more → ]

FLINT, Mich. -- The Flint city council on Monday passed an non-discrimination ordinance that includes crucial protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in housing and public accommodations. [ Read more → ]

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney took two wins by coming out on top in the GOP primary in Arizona and — after initially lagging in the polls — taking victory in Michigan. [ Read more → ]

TROY, Mich. -- Troy, Mich. Mayor Janice Daniels is embroiled in controversy again after members of a local high school Gay-Straight Alliance accused her of making homophobic remarks during a meeting Monday. [ Read more → ]

LANSING, Mich. -- Following months of heated debate, Michigan Republican Governor Rick Snyder on Thursday signed House Bill 4770, eliminating health care coverage for domestic partners of public employees, and prohibiting any government entity in the state from providing such coverage. [ Read more → ]

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Gay rights advocates claim that sheriff’s deputies in Kent County, Michigan, are targeting gay men in local parks by striking up conversations with them while working undercover in an effort to entrap and arrest them for behaviors that would be deemed acceptable for straight couples. [ Read more → ]

TROY, Mich. -- Reports claiming Troy Mayor Janice Daniels was fired from her job at Century 21 Town & Country are not true, according to the manager of the real estate office where Daniels worked. [ Read more → ]

TROY, Mich. -- In a city council meeting that stretched five hours until nearly 1 a.m. Tuesday, residents of Troy, Mich. blasted mayor Janice Daniels over comments she posted to Facebook last June about gay marriage, which included a gay slur. [ Read more → ]

TROY, Mich. -- The blog “Keep Troy Strong” -- which is dedicated to progressive politics in this Michigan city -- has unearthed a June 25 Facebook comment by Troy’s new mayor, Janice Daniels, in which she wrote, “I think I am going to throw away my 'I Love New York' carrying bag now that queers can get married there.” [ Read more → ]

LANSING, Mich. -- The Michigan state Senate on Tuesday dropped it's "license to bully" bill, and instead passed a House version of the bill that stripped religious exemptions and that would require anti-bullying policies in the state's public schools. [ Read more → ]

LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan House of Representative this week passed its own version of the anti-bullying bill, removing the controversial language inserted by Senate Republicans that allowed for exceptions to the law for “a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction." [ Read more → ]

Michigan state Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing) is leading the fight against against GOP efforts to create a "license to bully" that gives kids the ability to bully based on "religious or moral convictions." [ Read more → ]

In an overwhelming victory, the Traverse City on Tuesday chose to keep Traverse City’s local non-discrimination ordinance on the books. The ordinance, passed last year by the City Commission, prohibits discrimination against gay and transgender residents in employment and housing. [ Read more → ]

The Michigan state Senate on Wednesday passed the "Matt's Safe School Law," an anti-bullying bill that contained a last minute addition by senate Republicans that essentially nullified the bill by allowing an exception to the law for "a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction of a school employee, school volunteer, pupil, or a pupil’s parent or guardian.” [ Read more → ]

Former Michigan assistant attorney general Andrew Shirvell is claiming in a new lawsuit filed in federal court, that prominent Detroit attorney Deborah Gordon used information she had gathered from prior cases in an effort question his professional behavior and reputation, a move Shirvell contends led to his firing. [ Read more → ]

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The outlook for domestic partner benefits for Michigan's state employees -- including staff at Michigan’s 15 public universities -- are in jeopardy due to a pair of bills that the sponsors claim will save approximately $8 million a year by eliminating the benefits. [ Read more → ]