Decision Comes in Response to New Civil Rights Movement Story
In response to a story from The New Civil Rights Movement, the Michigan House will remove language from a bill that reaffirms the state’s unconstitutional sodomy ban, according to Equality Michigan. The language, which states sodomy is illegal, was kept intact in a bill designed to protect animals against abuse.
Last week, NCRM broke a story about the fact that Senate Bill 291, a bill that’s part of a popular legislative package addressing animal cruelty called Logan’s Law, also contained the states’ unconstitutional law making oral and anal sex — both homosexual and heterosexual — a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The removal of the language from the bill won’t necessarily remove the ban entirely but could be an important step toward it.
GOP Sen. Rick Jones, the author of SB 291, told NCRM in an exclusive interview that he chose not to remove the unconstitutional sodomy ban from the bill because he feared such a move could derail the entire measure. However, the Senate’s 29-1 vote to pass the bill last Thursday, which also effectively reaffirmed the sodomy ban, quickly became national news after NCRM’s reporting, prompted an outcry among LGBT advocates.
Over the weekend, the statewide LGBT group Equality Michigan said not removing the sodomy ban from the bill was “a missed opportunity,” and said staff and board members were talking with lawmakers and legislative staff to discuss how the problem could be addressed in the House as the measure moves forward.
On Tuesday morning, Equality Michigan announced that SB 291 will not move forward in the House with the sodomy ban intact.
Representatives from Equality Michigan didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking further comment.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
This is a breaking news and developing story. Details may change. This story will be updated, and NCRM will likely publish follow-up stories on this news. Stay tuned and refresh for updates.Â
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Image by Michigan Municipal League via Flickr and a CC license