Whitmer, Gilchrist Sign Proclamation Marking June As Pride Month

LANSING, MI — Michigan has marked June as Pride Month to recognize the accomplishments of the state's LGBTQ+ community, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist said in a news release announcing the proclamation Tuesday.

“LGBTQ+ Michiganders are an essential part of who we are, and they make our state a better place to live and work,” Whitmer said in a statement. “Members of our LGBTQ+ community deserve full protection under the law so they can live their authentic lives. We still have work to do to make Michigan a truly inclusive state and we must expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act because the vaccine for discrimination is legislation. I encourage all Michiganders to recognize and celebrate the contributions of the LGBTQ+ community this Pride Month.”

“With more than 370,000 members of the LGBTQ+ community calling Michigan home, LGBTQ+ individuals are our neighbors, relatives, and friends,” Gilchrist said in a joint statement. “We must continue to fight to make sure LGBTQ+ individuals feel safe, valued, and know that their state will invest in their health and potential. Making connections, listening, and understanding the personal stories of LGBTQ+ individuals around you is something every Michigander can do to honor Pride Month. I will continue striving for future generations to see Michigan as a place to be whom they wish, love whom they want, and be proud.”

June 2021 will celebrate Pride Month to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, an event recognized as a catalyst for the modern LGBTQ+ Civil Rights Movement, the news release said. Michigan is home to an estimated 373,000 residents who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer, according to state data.

Michigan has been at the forefront of advancing civil rights for LGBTQ+ people, beginning with the nation’s first non-discrimination ordinance passed in 1972 in East Lansing and the nation’s first Civil Rights Commission to independently recognize that discrimination “because of sex” includes sexual orientation and gender identity in 2018.