Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is urging a court to toss out a lawsuit filed by a transphobic hair salon that claims it has the right to discriminate against people based on their gender identity.
Nessel, on behalf of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR), filed a motion Tuesday to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Studio 8 Hair Lab after it said that transgender people are not welcome and should get their haircut at “a pet groomer.”
The Michigan Civil Rights Commission, which is operated by MDCR, charged the salon with discrimination in November for advertising that it refused to serve transgender people.
A month later, Studio 8 responded by filing a First Amendment complaint in Grand Traverse Circuit Court, alleging the MDCR infringed on its religious beliefs and right to free speech.
In her motion Tuesday, Nessel argues that the circuit court has no jurisdiction over the case, and only the Michigan Court of Claims can hear cases against the state and its departments.
“Under Michigan law, religious freedoms are taken into consideration under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act when assessing discrimination claims,” Nessel said in a statement Wednesday. “Our state’s residents can rest assured that Michigan’s recently enacted protections for the LGBTQ+ community will be enforced to the fullest extent as the constitution permits. The Circuit Court has no discretion but to dismiss Studio 8’s claims against the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.”
Salon owner Christine Geiger tells Metro Times that she disagrees with Nessel’s interpretation of the law.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has said that courts decide first before agencies,” Geiger says.
Asked how the salon was doing after being thrust into the media spotlight, Geiger responds, “Fine,” and declined further comment.
In October, Geiger filed a lawsuit in Traverse City Circuit Court against Traverse City and three residents who filed a complaint against her salon, alleging they violated her “sincerely held religious understanding that God created a man and a woman and that any other conception of a man and a woman violates God’s plan.”
In December, Geiger added MDCR to the lawsuit in an attempt to challenge a part of the Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act that bars discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
In her motion to dismiss, Nessel said the salon was attempting “to derail administrative proceedings initiated against Studio 8 by MDCR and to retaliate against the individuals who exercised their right to file complaints against the studio under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.”
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