LANSING — Following up on a June surprise, Michigan House Speaker Pro Tem Pam Byrnes on Wednesday announced she had introduced legislation to roll back a 2004 constitutional amendment which bans same-sex marriage in the state.
Pam Byrnes
Byrnes, a Democrat from Washtenaw County’s Lyndon Township, [...]Reactions keep pouring in on the lopsided passage of Kalamazoo’s Ordinance 1856, the anti-discrimination ballot initiative, from yesterday’s vote.
The voters in this southwestern Michigan city backed the ordinance by a 62 to 38 vote, in still unofficial results.
In the words of Jon Hoadley, the Michigan native who successfully [...]
Momentarily turning away from the news of Maine’s nail-biter vote apparently won by opponents of civil marriage rights for gays and lesbians, the Human Rights Campaign issued a statement on yesterday’s Kalamazoo vote.
The Washington D.C.-based civil rights organization — the nation’s largest for LGBT individuals — [...]
LANSING — The Michigan House Judiciary Committee Wednesday voted 9-5 to send legislation to the full House to amend civil rights laws in the state to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes.
“With the passage in Kalamazoo last night by overwhelming majority of voters of [...]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Wednesday easily cleared the last procedural barrier standing in the way of passing legislation to extend unemployment insurance benefits as long as 20 weeks nationwide.
The count was 97 to one, with Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) the only lawmaker to oppose the measure.
The lopsided [...]
In what may be an important precedent, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that a man arrested for a so-called “Romeo and Juliet” relationship cannot be listed on the state’s sex offender registry because doing so would constitute cruel and unusual punishment.
The defendant, Robert Dipiazza, was arrested [...]
Mike Nofs won Mark Schauer’s old seat in the Michigan Senate last night, which extends the Republican majority in the Senate from 20-17 to 21-17. This changes little in terms of the odds that the Senate will approve new revenue bills, however, because the number of Republicans required to vote [...]
Here is a quick snap shot of races Michigan Messenger has reported on over the last eight months, and their outcomes:
In the special election for the Michigan Senate 19th, which was formerly held by Congressman Mark Schauer, Republican Mike Nofs bested Democrat Marty Griffin, 19,508 votes to 11,105 votes [...]
The chickens hatched during the budget negotiations over the last two months are quickly coming home to roost. The Department of Human Services is cutting 320 jobs just when the number of Michigan residents in need of the agency’s services is exploding due to rising unemployment and poverty. MLive.com [...]
It seems the expected hangover from the cash for clunkers program has been postponed as Ford and GM both post monthly gains over the previous year in October without the benefit of government-funded tax benefits. Automotive News says that with the October numbers, domestic auto sales “finally show some [...]
Ed Brayton, David Alire Garcia, Todd A. Heywood, Eartha Jane Melzer, Minehaha Forman, Spencer Ackerman, Mike Lillis
