GOP Michigan Guv Backs LGBT Workplace Protections

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder speaks at the IDEAL Group Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014 in Detroit. Snyder announced a plan to ask the Obama administration to set aside thousands of work visas to entice talented immigrants to li... Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder speaks at the IDEAL Group Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014 in Detroit. Snyder announced a plan to ask the Obama administration to set aside thousands of work visas to entice talented immigrants to live and work in bankrupt Detroit. The Republican governor said he is seeking 50,000 work visas solely for the city over five years. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) MORE LESS
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Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) on Thursday urged the legislature to amend state civil rights law to include protections for gays and lesbians, according to Detroit News.

State law prohibits discrimination based on “religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status or marital status,” but not sexual orientation or gender identity, according to the Huffington Post.

“I don’t believe in discrimination,” Snyder told Crain’s Detroit Business. “I hope that’s something the Legislature will take up sometime this year.”

He did not say whether he would sign a bill if it passed in the legislature, according to Crain’s.

While Snyder signaled his support for gay rights, he has not taken a stance on same-sex marriage. When a federal court struck down the state’s ban on gay marriage, Snyder said he would follow court orders but declined to state his personal view.

“If a federal judge changes the law…then I’m going to follow what’s been redefined as the law,” he said in March. “So I am not spending time [on] the issue itself.”

In February however, Snyder’s office asked a judge to uphold Michigan’s ban on providing benefits to same-sex couples, arguing that it saved the state money.

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