1700s

From 1660 to 1763, Michigan was part of a French-controlled area called New France, where French laws made sodomy a crime punishable by death. In 1763, Michigan was given to Great Britain's Indian Reserve, which used the British law against buggery, which required the death penalty for male-male buggery. The Quebec Act of 1774 added Michigan to the Province of Quebec. When Quebec was divided into Lower and Upper Canada in 1791, Michigan became part of Kent County, Upper Canada. In 1796, under the Jay Treaty of 1794, Britain left Michigan, and it joined the Northwest Territory. The Northwest Territory had a law from 1795 that included all English common laws and laws from before English settlers arrived in North America in 1607. This included the English buggery law, which required the death penalty for male-male buggery.

1800s

In 1800, Michigan was part of the Indiana Territory. No original laws from that time are known to exist today. In 1805, most of Michigan became a separate territory and created its own criminal code. This code did not mention sodomy. In 1809, part of Michigan joined the Illinois Territory, which adopted all laws from the Indiana Territory. These laws included penalties of up to five years in prison, fines of $100–$500, and up to 500 lashes for sodomy. In 1810, the Michigan Territory decided to cancel all previous laws from Great Britain, Canada, France, the Northwest Territory, the Indiana Territory, and its own laws from 1807 to 1810. It is unclear if a similar law existed in Michigan before this, but if it did, it was canceled as of this date.

The first official law against sodomy in Michigan was passed in 1816. This law placed sodomy as less serious than murder, manslaughter, and treason but more serious than rape. The punishment was an unspecified fine and imprisonment in solitary confinement with hard labor for up to 21 years. In 1818, all of Michigan became part of the Michigan Territory. In 1820, a new law set the maximum fine for sodomy at $300 and reduced the maximum prison sentence to three years, still requiring solitary hard labor. In 1846, a new law increased the maximum prison sentence for sodomy to 15 years and removed the fine. The law did not include language stating that the crime was complete only after penetration.

In 1892, the first sodomy case to reach the Michigan Supreme Court was People v. Graney, which supported a sodomy conviction after an appeal. Later that year, the court ruled in People v. Hodgkin that the absence of language about penetration in the 1846 law meant proof of emission (the release of bodily fluids) had to be shown for a conviction. In 1897, Michigan passed a unique law that banned the exploitation of boys, with separate sections for male and female offenders.

1900–1970

In 1903, the Michigan Legislature passed a "gross indecency" law. This law made non-heterosexual activities illegal. In 1922, the Michigan Supreme Court supported the gross indecency law in the case of People v. Carey. In 1923, the sodomy law was changed to remove the requirement of proving semen emission to prove the crime. In 1931, the sodomy law was updated to state that even the smallest amount of penetration was enough to complete the crime. The gross indecency law was revised to reduce the maximum fine from $5,000 to $2,500.

In 1935, Michigan became the first state in the nation to pass a "psychopathic offender" law. This law created a process to send people convicted of "indecent crimes" to state hospitals if certain conditions were met. Indecent crimes included sodomy, gross indecency, "indecent language in the presence or hearing of any woman or child," "disorderly conduct involving sex," or "any other crime of a similar nature." In 1936, the Michigan Supreme Court, in the case of People v. Schmitt, decided that the term "crime against nature" did not include fellatio. This crime could only be prosecuted under the "gross indecency" law, which had a maximum penalty of five years in prison, compared to 15 years for the sodomy law.

In 1938, the Michigan Supreme Court, in a 5-3 decision, ruled in the case of People v. Frontczak that the psychopathic offender law was unconstitutional. In 1939, the "gross indecency" law was expanded to include situations involving two females and a male or a female and a male. The psychopathic offender law was rewritten to avoid court objections. The law no longer mentioned sodomy or gross indecency. Instead, it referred to people with a tendency to commit sex crimes.

In the 1960s, homosexual residents in Michigan continued to face being fired from jobs and excluded from society as a result of McCarthyism. In 1965, Michigan passed a law allowing people convicted of most crimes, including sodomy and gross indecency, before age 21 to have their convictions removed if they requested it five years or more after conviction and had only one offense. A judge could remove the conviction if the person's behavior and circumstances justified it. In 1967, the Michigan Court of Appeals, in the case of People v. Askar, ruled that the sodomy law applied to heterosexuals. In 1968, the Court of Appeals upheld the sodomy law in the case of People v. Green. Also in 1968, the psychopathic offender law was completely removed.

1970–1979

On January 15, 1970, organized efforts to support LGBT rights in Michigan began. This happened about six months after the Stonewall riots. A meeting called "Gay Meeting" was planned at St. Joseph's Episcopal Church in Detroit, a church known for supporting social and political change. People from places like Ann Arbor attended, and this led to the creation of the Detroit Gay Liberation Movement. Jim Toy, who was the organist at St. Joseph's Church, was one of the group's founders. He also helped start a group in Ann Arbor in March 1970 and shared his identity as gay during an anti-Vietnam War protest in April. Gayle Rubin, who lived in Ann Arbor at the time, helped form a group for lesbian women in the area.

On March 17, 1970, Jim Toy helped create the University of Michigan chapter of the Gay Liberation Front. In September 1971, Toy, who graduated from the University of Michigan, worked with Cynthia Gair to start the Human Sexuality Office (HSO) at the university. This group later became the Lesbian-Gay Male Programs Office (LGMPO) and is now called the Spectrum Center. It was one of the first LGBT student centers in the United States. In 1971, Toy was chosen by Bishop Richard Emrich of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan to join the Diocesan Commission on Homosexuality. The group published a report in 1973, which was one of the first church documents in the country to support the rights of lesbian and gay people.

In 1976, a legal case called People v. Howell created confusion. Two of the eight judges on the Michigan Supreme Court did not participate. The remaining six judges were split 3-3 on whether a law making certain private, consensual activities between males illegal was constitutional. The court's opinion seemed to support removing the law, but the decision was unclear.

In East Lansing, the Gay Liberation Movement (now called the Alliance of Queer and Ally Students) was formed at Michigan State University. This group protested the firing of openly gay city workers and helped the East Lansing City Council pass the first anti-discrimination law in U.S. history that included sexual orientation on March 7, 1972.

In April 1972, Jerry DeGrieck and Nancy Wechsler were elected to the Ann Arbor city council as members of the Human Rights Party. Their election marked a turning point for LGBT rights in the state. In June, the city council issued the first-ever "Lesbian-Gay Pride Week Proclamation" from any government in the country. Later that year, the council passed an anti-discrimination law that included sexual orientation, making Ann Arbor the second city in the state to do so. Jim Toy helped write both the proclamation and the law.

During their time on the city council, both Wechsler and DeGrieck shared their identities as homosexual, becoming the first openly homosexual public officials in the United States. When Wechsler decided not to run for re-election in 1974, her position was won by Kathy Kozachenko, a candidate from the Human Rights Party. Kozachenko became the first openly gay or lesbian person in the country to win a public office.

1980–1989

In 1983, House Bill 5000 was introduced. This was the first bill to try adding "sexual orientation" to the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act in the state. The bill was helped introduce by Republican representative Jim Dressel, who later said he was gay. In 1987, in the case People v. Kalchik, the Court of Appeals said the law about gross indecency was okay but said the person was not guilty. In another case in 1989, People v. Lynch, a different Court of Appeals group decided that consenting adults could not be punished under the gross indecency law. However, they said the person was guilty because the crime happened in a public restroom.

1990–1999

In 1990, a court in Wayne County, Michigan, ruled that the state's crime against nature and gross indecency laws were not valid. This decision was made in the case Michigan Organization for Human Rights v. Kelley. However, the state did not challenge this ruling, and in 1992, the Michigan Court of Appeals upheld the laws by a 10-3 vote in the case People v. Brashier, which canceled the earlier decision. In 1991, the Ann Arbor City Council passed the first domestic partnership law in Michigan, giving same-sex couples some legal rights. In 1994, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the Court of Appeals had made a mistake in the Brashier case by allowing juries to decide "gross indecency" based on what the community considered acceptable. In June 1996, the Michigan House of Representatives voted 88-14 to prevent same-sex marriage in the state, and the Michigan Senate voted 31-2 to support this ban. The same month, the House also approved a law 74-28 to stop recognizing same-sex marriages from other states, and the Senate agreed. Both laws were signed into law by Governor John Engler.

2000–2009

In 2001, after a Detroit state judge was arrested for exposing himself in a restroom, County Prosecutor Mike Duggan said, "[w]e are not going to charge and prosecute consenting adults." In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas made it illegal to punish adults who engage in consensual sodomy nationwide. However, the Michigan Legislature has not officially removed this law as of now. On December 23, 2003, Governor Jennifer Granholm issued an executive order that banned discrimination in public sector jobs based on sexual orientation.

In 2004, voters approved Michigan State Proposal 04-2, a constitutional amendment that banned same-sex marriage and civil unions in the state. It received 58.6% of the vote. Later, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that public employers could not offer domestic partnership benefits based on this amendment. On November 22, 2007, Governor Jennifer Granholm expanded her executive order to include protection against discrimination based on gender identity. This order was later continued under Governor Rick Snyder.

2010–present

On September 15, 2011, the Michigan House of Representatives voted 64 to 44 to approve a bill that would stop most public employers, except colleges and universities, from providing health benefits to the domestic partners of their employees. The bill did not apply to workers whose benefits were set by the Michigan Civil Service Commission. On December 7, 2011, the Michigan State Senate voted 27 to 9 to approve the bill. On December 22, 2011, Governor Rick Snyder signed the bill into law. On January 23, 2012, a lesbian couple filed a lawsuit called DeBoer v. Snyder in federal court, arguing that the state’s law against same-sex couples jointly adopting children was unfair. In December 2012, the Michigan Court of Appeals said state courts could hear cases about second parent adoptions by same-sex couples, but did not decide whether such adoptions should be allowed.

On March 14, 2013, the Michigan State Senate passed an emergency bill about harbor dredging funding by a vote of 37 to 0. The bill said private marinas could not get a new loan program if they discriminated based on sexual orientation. On March 20, 2013, the Michigan House of Representatives approved the bill by a vote of 106 to 4. On March 27, 2013, Governor Rick Snyder signed the bill into law. On June 28, 2013, U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson issued a temporary order stopping the state from enforcing its law that blocked local governments and school districts from offering health benefits to employees’ domestic partners.

On March 21, 2014, the state of Michigan legalized same-sex marriage when U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman ruled the state’s ban was unconstitutional. Attorney General Bill Schuette asked for a temporary pause in the ruling. In the meantime, same-sex couples began applying for marriage licenses as early as March 22, 2014, when clerks’ offices opened. That same day, an appeals court paused the case until March 26. In March 2023, the Governor of Michigan signed a bill into law that had passed both houses of the Michigan Legislature the same month. The bill officially includes both sexual orientation and gender identity in civil rights laws and prevents discrimination against individuals based on these factors in Michigan.

LGBT people from Michigan

• Forman Brown (born in Otsego) was a leading figure in puppet theatre and an early gay novelist.
• Cookie Buffet (born in Ann Arbor) was a drag queen and advocate for gay rights.
• David Burtka (born in Dearborn) was an actor and chef.
• Lynn Conway was a computer scientist and advocate for transgender rights.
• James K. Dressel served as a state representative in the Michigan legislature during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
• Ruth Ellis was an activist and the namesake of the Ruth Ellis Center.
• Feloni was a rapper.
• Marilyn Frye has been a professor of feminist philosophy, metaphysics, and philosophy of language at Michigan State University since 1974.
• LZ Granderson (born in Detroit) was a journalist and commentator.
• David M. Halperin was a scholar.
• Quentin Harris (born in Detroit) was a house music producer, remixer, and DJ.
• James Leo Herlihy (born in Detroit) was a novelist, playwright, and actor.
• Holly Hughes (born in Saginaw) was a performance artist.
• Chris Kolb (born in Ann Arbor) was a former member of the Michigan State House of Representatives for the 53rd district.
• Lisa Kron (born in Ann Arbor) was an actress and playwright.
• Kathy Kozachenko won a seat on the Ann Arbor City Council in 1972 and was the first openly gay or lesbian candidate to win a political office in the United States.
• Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes was an author, scholar, and performer.
• W. Dorr Legg studied landscape architecture at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and was one of the founders of the U.S. gay rights movement.
• Holly Miranda was a singer-songwriter and musician.
• Peter McWilliams (born in Allen Park) was a writer who published popular self-help books on his own.
• Gary Miller was a conductor who earned a Master of Music in choral conducting from the University of Michigan.
• Jeffrey Montgomery (born in Detroit) was an activist and co-founded the Triangle Foundation (now Equality Michigan).
• Steven Piziks was a novelist.
• Charles Pugh (born in Detroit) was a television journalist, radio personality, and politician known for his work at WJBK in Detroit from 1999 to 2009 and for being elected president of the Detroit City Council in 2009.
• Alma Routsong was a poet.
• Gayle Rubin was a scholar.
• Nate Silver (born in East Lansing) was a statistician and writer who analyzed baseball games and elections.
• Jon Stryker was an architect, philanthropist, and advocate for social and environmental causes.
• Jim Toy co-authored the first official "Lesbian-Gay Pride Week Proclamation" in U.S. history (in Ann Arbor) and founded the Spectrum Center at the University of Michigan.