Backers of an effort to put LGBT
protections to a vote in Michigan announced Friday that they are
calling it quits for 2016.
The bipartisan campaign committee Fair
Michigan had won regulatory approval to begin collecting signatures
to put a constitutional amendment before voters that sought to ban
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity
and sex.
Equality Michigan and the American
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) were outspoken in their opposition to
the approach. The groups said they feared defeat at the polls.
Detroit attorney Dana Nessel co-chairs
Fair Michigan.
“2016 presented a real, unique
opportunity to give Michigan voters the chance at long last to update
and expand our Constitution to prevent discrimination and ensure
everyone is treated fairly after too many years of legislative
inaction,” Nessel said in a statement. “We had the right language
at the right time, backed by detailed research that demonstrated
Michiganders of all political affiliations, backgrounds and
communities across the state would have been behind this effort.
Unfortunately, politics got in the way and created barriers to
long-term success.”
The ACLU told The Detroit News
that it will continue to lobby lawmakers to approve such protections.