On Monday, January 7th, Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order banning discrimination against LGBTQ state employees and Wisconsin’s Governor Tony Evers signed an executive order expanding nondiscrimination protections to transgender state employees.

Equality Federation congratulates member organizations Equality Michigan and Fair Wisconsin and all of the leaders of both states for their efforts to secure these great victories in the Midwest!

“In the face of one of the most hostile administrations ever, change continues to be made at the state level, where Americans of every background continue to stand up for fairness and equality” said Ian Palmquist, Senior Director of Programs and Equality Federation, “We thank these governors for doing the right thing and applaud the leadership of Equality Michigan and Fair Wisconsin!”

Erin Knott, Equality Michigan’s Interim Executive Director said, “Modernizing Michigan’s policies to make it clear that discrimination against LGBTQ people will not be tolerated is long overdue. We are proud to stand alongside Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as she does everything in her power to protect Michigan’s LGBTQ community from discrimination. This is a welcome solution to a problem that our community has faced for far too long, but it is not a substitute for a legislative expansion of the state’s civil rights protections to include the LGBTQ community.”

Megin McDonell, Executive Director of Fair Wisconsin, said, “Governor Evers heard his constituents loud and clear and took action to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in the workplace. This Executive Order modernizes our state’s internal policies to make sure Wisconsin government employees are judged solely on their job performance, not who they are or who they love.

Our state is at its strongest when we’re all free to work hard, earn a decent living, and go about our lives without fear of discrimination. Discrimination has no place in our state, and this Executive Order is an important step towards making sure our state is a safe place for everyone to live, work, and play.”