The Michigan Supreme Court has ruled that businesses and property owners can't discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Detroit Free Press reported Thursday that the state's high court ruled 5-2 that the law already on Michigan's books bars business owners, landlords, and others from refusing services to people just because of their LGBTQ+ status.
According to the paper, the ruling came down to the definition of sex, and the majority opinion ruled that it did include orientation and gender identity.
The case was argued before the court by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, Michigan's first openly gay official elected at the state level.
"Our residents deserve to live in a state that recognizes the value of diversity and rejects the notion that our own civil rights law could be used as a tool of discrimination," said Nessel in a statement reported by the Free Press. "This ruling is not only a victory for the LGBTQ+ community, but for all Michigan residents, and one that’s long overdue."
The case stemmed from two businesses in the state that refused service from the LGBTQ+ community based on religious convictions. One was an outdoor wedding venue in Sturgis, in southwest lower Michigan, and the other was a hair-removal business in the Upper Peninsula that refused service to a transgender woman.
Four Democratic justices and one Republican voted for the majority. Two Republican justices voted against it. In his dissent, Justice Brian Zahra wrote he had no issue with equal rights but believed it is up to the Michigan Legislature to decide, not the courts.
"This court’s duty is to say what the law is, not what it thinks the law ought to be. But this is exactly what a majority of this court has done here," wrote Zahra, as quoted by the Free Press.
The ruling may prompt action by Michigan's Republican-controlled legislature. Governor Gretchen Whitmer, along with Nessel, is a Democrat.
