Outgoing Michigan Governor Rick Snyder,
a Republican, on Friday signed an executive order that protects the
LGBT community from discrimination, but the American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU) has called the order a “step backward.”
The order prohibits state departments
and agencies from discriminating based on sexual orientation or
gender identity in the areas of procurement, grant and loan programs.
“State government is one of the
biggest buyers of goods and services in Michigan and therefore is
uniquely positioned to be a leader in ensuring fair treatment for
people in employment,” Snyder wrote in his order. “For Michigan
to be a leader in inclusive economic development, all State of
Michigan departments and agencies that perform functions and provide
loans and grants to local units of government and private entities
must work together to ensure state government is open to everyone.”
The order exempts contractors or
subcontractors that are religious organizations.
The ACLU of Michigan criticized the
order, saying that its faith-based exemption is a “step backward.”
“That's a back door to discrimination
against LGBT people,” Jay Kaplan, staff attorney for the LGBT
Project at the ACLU of Michigan, told Crain's
Detroit Business. “Whether the governor had good intent …
this kind of language is definitely a step backward.”
Kaplan called the order's language
“highly problematic” and promised his group would lobby incoming
Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, to amend it.
(Related: Ohio's
outgoing Republican Governor John Kasich signs transgender
protections order.)