Halloween Court Ruling Reinforces Connerly’s Tricks

Today the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) expressed its deep disappointment in today’s Michigan Court of Appeals ruling that the Board of State Canvassers must certify Ward Connerly’s misleading proposed amendment to the Michigan Constitution for the 2006 general election ballot.

“We are deeply disappointed that the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled to allow the deceptive so-called Michigan Civil Rights Initiative (MCRI) to be placed on the 2006 ballot,” said Wade Henderson, executive director, of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the nation’s oldest, largest, and most diverse civil and human rights coalition.

“Ward Connerly’s deliberately deceptive ballot initiative would effectively roll back the promise of equal opportunity for women and minorities in Michigan. Further, it is an attempt to subvert the 2003 Supreme Court decision (Grutter v. Bollinger) to uphold equal opportunity across the country. We will work with our allies in Michigan and across the country to redouble our efforts to fight Connerly and his tricks.”

“We are confident that Michigan voters will see through Connerly’s tricks and not vote to alter the Michigan constitution on the whim of a California businessman who doesn’t even call Michigan his home,” continued Henderson.

Connerly’s efforts are opposed by a broad, bipartisan coalition of organizations and individuals (www.oneunitedmichigan.org) including Michigan Catholic Conference, Business & Professional Women, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Michigan Education Association, NAACP, Detroit Renaissance, ACLU, Michigan Federation of Teachers, American Association of University Women, National Council of Jewish Women, YWCA, AFL-CIO, and AFSCME, among others