LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Supreme Court on Thursday ruled Michigan's current laws against discrimination based on sex includes a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation, a ruling that effectively stops businesses from denying services or employment opportunities to the gay community.
The 5-2 decision written by Republican-nominated Justice Elizabeth Clement found that discrimination based on sexual orientation involves bias based on sex because the individual's sexual orientation is "generally determined by reference to their own sex."
"For example, attraction to females in a fellow female is considered homosexual, while the same trait in a male is considered heterosexual; the sex of the individual at issue is necessary to determine their sexual orientation," wrote Clement. "To discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, then, also requires the discriminator to intentionally treat individuals differently because of their sex."
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