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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

In Wake of Orlando: Turning Emotions into Action in Michigan

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Monday, June 27, 2016   

LANSING, Mich. - It's been two weeks since the mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., but the tragedy likely will never be forgotten by those in Michigan's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.

Activist Jim Toy, founder of the Spectrum Center, and a member of the National Association of Social Workers in Michigan, said people in Michigan are still experiencing sadness, anger and fear over the tragedy. Emotions, he said, should be directed into action for change. Toy said the LGBT community is threatened by the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act.

"Not by the act itself but by people who use it against TGBLQ folks and allies," he said. "We also are at risk of having our local non-discrimination ordinances struck down."

He notes Michigan's Elliot Larson Non-Discrimination Act and the state's hate crimes law do not include LGBT individuals and need to be expanded. Forty-nine people were among those killed by a gunman targeting a gay night club on June 12, including two men with ties to Michigan.

Another issue resonating after the Orlando shooting are calls for sensible gun laws, including restricting access to assault weapons. Toy believes gun violence is an epidemic that should be addressed at multiple levels.

"Guns are used by people who are filled, for example, with prejudice and hate," he added. "On the other hand, the psycho-social forces that encourage people to use guns or any other weapon of violence needs to be addressed."

Toy adds that in order to create justice that can lead to peace, the current culture of hate needs to end. He said people from all walks of life deserve to be treated with respect.

"It needs to be addressed first in positive terms in our homes, our educational institutions, our religious institutions and in specific policy concerns," he said. "We've been working on that for 30 years here, so we have a long road to go."


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