Gay Rights Advocate to Northville Democrats: Let's Stand Up For Everybody

When President Barack Obama signaled his support for gay marriage last year, it provided a high-profile ally for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community.

Still, one LGBT advocate says, marriage equality is just one of several steps elected officials have to address to ensure fairness to all citizens. 

Emily Dievendorf, policy director for Equality Michigan says locally, many gay citizens still are denied basic rights, and that those need to be resolved before gay marriage—which she dubs "the final frontier—becomes a reality.

Dievendorf, who spoke Thursday at Hillside Middle School to about 35 attendees consisting of area residents and members of the Northville Democratic Club, said Michigan still is among 29 states that allows employers to fire employees for being gay.

Dievendorf also said many proposed laws that have purported to offer protections to victims of bullying have offered loopholes that she said would make it lawful for a gay person to be targeted if the antagonist has a "sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction."

Dievendorf said her group aims to raise awareness of questionable legislation, publicizing issues many voters might otherwise overlook.

There have been encouraging signs from Michigan residents, she said, that the LGBT community is seeing acceptance from its peers.

"We're starting to see some really amazing things," she said. "The majority of Michigan voters are in favor of marriage equality."