There’s something going on that is truly amazing: Rick Snyder is slowly transforming into his Democratic opponent Mark Schauer on major issues voters are concerned about right now. First it was raising the minimum wage. One day he’s saying it would harm the economy and wasn’t important to him. The next day he’s signing legislation into law that is almost […]

Many of us in the progressive arena advocate passionately for LGBT civil rights. And right we should; it is literally the civil rights struggle of our time. Interestingly and unfortunately, LGBT rights have become mainly synonymous with civil rights for gay and lesbian men and women. Bisexuals like myself often aren’t taken seriously by straight or queer people and we […]

Same-sex marriage makes people cry [All non-Twitter photos by Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog.] Around 300 same-sex Michigan couples took advantage of a one-day window when they were allowed to marry legally yesterday. Four County Clerks — Nancy Waters in Muskegon, Barb Byrum in Ingham, Lawrence Kestenbaum in Washtenaw, and Lisa Brown in Oakland — opened their offices on […]

The ban on same-sex marriage in Michigan can tear families apart [left to right: April, Nolan, Jacob, Jayne, and Ryanne] Tomorrow the trial of April DeBoer vs. Rick Sndyer begins. This trial has implications not on for our state but for the entire country. Although it started as a suit to give same-sex parents the same sorts of adoption rights […]

On Saturday night this past weekend, the heroes who are Equality Michigan had their annual fundraising dinner and awards banquet. Although a couple of hundred people attended, it was a surprisingly intimate event on the top floor of the Motor City Casino in Detroit. With the dramatic Detroit skyline dominating the room, LGBT activists and allies gathered to celebrate their […]

Share the Love Late last year, Anne and I traveled to the home of Jayne Rowse and April DeBoer, a same-sex couple with adopted children who find themselves at the center of a fierce legal battle over marriage equality and adoption rights for same-sex couples in our state. Our interview got a lot of attention and spurred me on to […]

Bigot is as bigot does Anti-marriage equality bigots in Utah have asked the Supreme Court to halt same-sex marriages in their state after a federal judge found their statewide ban unconstitutional. Since the decision, same sex couples have been getting married in droves. The petitioners today described each of these marriages this way: Each one, the state said in its […]

Leadership! [Caricature by DonkeyHotey from photos by Anne C. Savage for Eclectablog] In a year-end interview with MLive, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder took the bold step of letting others lead on providing basic civil rights protections for members of the LGBT community. It was a proud moment: Gay-rights advocates were quick to point out that Michigan law does not currently […]

The ban on same-sex marriage in Michigan can tear families apart [left to right: April, Nolan, Jacob, Jayne, and Ryanne] A few years ago, what started as a family vacation in Ohio nearly ended up in a fatal car crash for April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse. The two nurses had their three adopted children with them and the close call […]

“This is about treating all people fairly, with honor, dignity, and respect.” Today the U.S. Senate passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that would end discrimination based on sexual orientation. It seems unlikely the House Speaker John Boehner will even allow it to come to a vote in the House. Being this close to equality for all Americans in the […]

Love is love One Royal Oak, an LGBT advocacy coalition in Royal Oak, Michigan claims a huge victory tonight as voters preserved a human rights ordinance that prevents discrimination based on sexuality or gender identity. From the One Royal Oak folks: Voters in Royal Oak have passed Proposal A, upholding a Human Rights Ordinance the Royal Oak Commission passed in […]