DETROIT (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court on Thursday said the state's anti-discrimination law covers sexual orientation, a victory for LGBTQ residents.
The court, in a 5-2 opinion, said the word "sex" in Michigan's key civil rights law applies to sexual orientation and not just gender.
"Our residents deserve to live in a state that recognizes the value of diversity and rejects the notion that our own civil rights law could be used as a tool of discrimination," said Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is gay and had argued the case at the Supreme Court.
In 2019, Rouch World, an event center in Sturgis, declined to host a same-sex wedding, saying it conflicted with the owner's religious beliefs. That same year, a hair-removal business declined to serve a transgender woman.
The Court of Claims said in 2020 that it was bound by a Court of Appeals decision decades earlier that found sexual orientation wasn't covered by the civil rights law.
Lawyers for Rouch World said it was up to the Legislature, not courts, to expressly state that Michigan law bars discrimination based on sexual orientation.
