LGBTQ

Today on Stateside, we talk to a business leader who wants legal protections for LGBTQ people, and a gay politician who says they are not needed. Plus, an updated system for driverless cars is being tested on the streets of Detroit. Are people ready for them?

Today on Stateside, what does the ongoing United Auto Workers strike against General Motors tell us about the role of American labor in the nation's economy today? Plus, two women at opposite ends of the same career path talk about what it takes to succeed in the male-dominated electrical trade.

Today on Stateside, do federal protections against sex discrimination extend to transgender people? A federal appeals court ruled that yes, they do. We'll talk with the lawyer who's asking the U.S. Supreme Court to come to the opposite conclusion. Plus, we’ll talk about Detroit country music ahead of a new Ken Burns documentary about this "uniquely American art form.”

Aimee Stephens took months to compose a letter to her employer in July 2013. It read: 

“With the support of my loving wife, I have decided to become the person that my mind already is. I cannot begin to describe the shame and suffering that I have lived with. At the end of my vacation on August 26, 2013, I will return to work as my true self, Aimee Australia Stephens, in appropriate business attire.” 

These words propelled Stephens into the heart of a legal case soon to be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court ─ a potentially landmark case for the future of LGBTQ rights in this country.

Today on Stateside, a Detroit-based company tries to mediate the “plague” of tax foreclosures in the city of Detroit. Plus, we hear from a judge who might have made a legal path for LGBTQ people to go to court for discrimination even though there are no civil rights protections for them in Michigan.

Some 4.7 million LGBT older adults — known as the “Stonewall Generation” — will be seeking elder care services by 2030. But are our long-term senior living communities equipped to accommodate the needs of gay and transgender residents?

Today on Stateside, former Michigander Jimmy Aldaoud was deported to Iraq, a country he had never been to, in June. This week, his family says he died after not being able to obtain insulin for his diabetes. We talk to a family friend about what happened. Plus, the challenges of finding inclusive long-term care facilities when you're an LGBT senior.

Today on Stateside, how two new major US Supreme Court decisions will impact Michigan. Plus, with the anniversary of the Stonewall riots this Friday, we look at the history of the gay rights movement in Michigan.

In Michigan, you can be fired because you are gay. You can be denied housing in some instances. You can be denied service at a restaurant, a bar, a wedding cake baker. But that might be changing.

There's a bill in the state Legislature that would extend protections for LGBTQ folks under what's known as the Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act.

Today on Stateside, lawmakers are again proposing an expansion of the state's Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include protections for Michigan’s LGBTQ citizens. Plus, how the wet, cold spring has impacted Michigan farmers this growing season. 

Today on Stateside, as General Motors prepares to close the company's Detroit-Hamtramck plant, how is the city of Hamtramck preparing for life after GM? Plus, a treasure trove of Anishinaabe art from Michigan is now on permanent display in Vienna, Austria.

Today on Stateside, the nation's second largest Protestant denomination voted Tuesday to reaffirm the church's ban on same-sex marriage and LGBTQ clergy. We talk to two United Methodist pastors about what it means for the church going forward. Plus, 67 years ago, a young activist named Coleman A. Young went toe-to-toe with congressmen on the feared House Un-American Activities Committee over allegations that he was involved with the Communist Party.  

Today on Stateside, we get an explainer on Proposal 2. That's the anti-gerrymandering ballot proposal that would change how the maps for legislative and congressional districts are drawn. Plus, a look at the discrimination members of the LGTBTQ community face in Michigan, even after the legalization of gay marriage. 

Listen to the full show above or find individual segments below. 

Today on Stateside, our education commentator explains why teachers shouldn’t shy away from talking about politics in the classroom. Plus, we hear about allegations against the Detroit Medical Center that claim the hospital fired several doctors after they raised concerns about dirty surgical instruments and other problems.

Listen to the full show or find individual segments below.

Detroit Medical Center under investigation after new allegations of dirty surgical instruments

There's a tug-of-war happening between the Michigan Civil Rights Commission and Attorney General Bill Schuette. In the middle of it lies Michigan’s LGBTQ community.

Gay rights, Roe v. Wade, climate change and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). These are just a few of the references that state Senator Patrick Colbeck and a group of conservative leaders hope to eliminate from K-12 public school social studies curriculum.

Let’s say there had been a Michigan Civil Rights Commission in 1961, and it announced that it was going to start investigating claims of discrimination against black people.