(WWJ) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is taking aim at other states she says are making life difficult for transgender residents, while promoting what Michigan is doing to protect them.
On Friday, which President Joe Biden has declared Transgender Day of Visibility, Whitmer released a video statement on social media.
In the video, the governor makes clear that transgender people, and all those in the LBGTQ community, are welcome in Michigan.
"Today is Trans Day of Visibility and I want you to know that no matter who you are, who you love, how you identify, there's place for you right here in Michigan," Whitmer said.
"We will fight for your freedom to live your life and to be yourself without fear of discrimination."
She continued, "Earlier this month, I signed an expansion of Michigan's Elliott Larson Civil Rights Act to reaffirm protections for sexual orientation and expand protections to include gender identity and expression."
"This is about ensuring that no one can be fired from their job or evicted from their home because of who they are or how they identify. I'm so proud we got this done.
"While other states are dedicating themselves to the business of bigotry and discrimination toward the trans community, we are taking action so every Michigan is equal under the eyes of the law and free to be who they are."
In Biden's proclamation, made Thursday. the president said the purpose of the Transgender Day of Visibility is to celebrate "the joy, strength, and absolute courage" of some of the bravest people he knows — "people who have too often had to put their jobs, relationships, and lives on the line just to be their true selves." Biden said his administration wants to show millions of transgender and nonbinary Americans that they are seen, that they belong, and they should be treated with dignity and respect. Read more from President Biden here.
Those on the other side of this issue — including many Republican governors and right-wing groups — say, however, that their goal is not bigotry, but to protect children from indoctrination, or even just from learning too soon about any issues concerning sex or gender. Others, including evangelical Christians, believe that "God's design" for is for two sexes – male and female – and that the modern transgender movement is systematically working to dismantle that design.
Meanwhile, political experts, including those quoted in a report by PBS News, have said a primary reason for escalating attacks by rightwing politicians on transgender rights is to make sure that evangelicals show up to vote on Election Day.
This comes as CNN reports least 385 bills targeting LGBTQ rights and queer life have been introduced around the U.S. through early March according to data compiled by the American Civil Liberties Union. The number of bills has already surpassed last year's total of 306, according to ACLU data shared with CNN.
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