Lansing — Same-sex couples are not given the same opportunities as heterosexual couples when renting or owning property, a report released Tuesday by the Fair Housing Center of Southeastern Michigan concluded.
The study examined 120 cases throughout various parts of the state, beginning in May 2005 and ending in February 2006.
"Sexual orientation is not always covered in Michigan legislation," said Kristen Cuhran, coordinator of investigations for the housing center. "It should be."
Representatives from the housing center, Triangle Foundation, American Civil Liberties Union and some elected officials learned of the report's findings Tuesday at the Anderson House Office Building, 124 N. Capitol Ave., in Lansing.
Michigan is one of 33 states that doesn't offer lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people protection against housing discrimination, according to the ACLU.
"The problem is, the remedies available are limited," said Jay Kaplan, a staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan.
Gay and lesbian couples are being told apartments aren't available, and the next step is to act out and get the support of the government, Kaplan said.
Natalie Holbrook, 30, of Ypsilanti, and her partner served as test subjects for the project in summer 2005.
She gave testimony about her experience at the event.
An employee showing the couple through an apartment made an inappropriate remark, Holbrook said.
"I experienced blatant discrimination that bordered on sexual harassment," she said.
The employee implied the last man he showed the apartment to was gay, making Holbrook and her partner uncomfortable. After Holbrook and her partner stated they were a couple, the employee went on to make sexually explicit comments about the LGBT community, Holbrook said.
"Two women don't bother me," she reported the employee saying. "It's two men that I don't understand. I think it's gross. I hope I did not offend you. I have no problem with you girls. I kind of like it. I can get into that."
Holbrook found the employee's comments to be too explicit and inappropriate.
"If I was actually searching for an apartment, I would have never considered renting from that guy," she said. "His comments were derogatory and inappropriate."
State Rep. Lorence Wenke, R-Richland Township, is co-sponsoring a bill to protect LGBT people in Michigan from housing discrimination.
"It should be a criminal act to discriminate against any Michigan citizen, including our gay family members," he said at the conference.
It's important to make LGBT people throughout the state aware they could be victims of discrimination, Holbrook said.
"Oftentimes, I think people don't realize that they're being discriminated against," she said. "A heterosexual couple may be offered $200 off their security deposit and a homosexual couple won't. But the gay couple doesn't realize this."
