MCRI news

The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative officially becomes part of the Michigan Constitution today.

Calling liberals sore losers would be an understatement. Elitists still believe in racial discrimination, even though voters clearly rejected it.

It shouldn't be any surprise that the radical group BAMN has filed a lawsuit against the MCRI. They filed a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn the MCRI, using the usual bogus arguments. Of course, the Gazette and other media outlets once again treat BAMN like a mainstream group, instead of the front for the communist Revolutionary Workers League that it is.

Three Michigan Universities, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University, filed suit against the MCRI and succeeded in obtaining a six-month delay before the MCRI affects them. The ruling was handed down by Federal Judge David Lawson. News Reports failed to indicate that Judge Lawson was appointed by Bill Clinton. The Universities claimed that it would be "unfair" to force them to change their policies in the middle of the admissions cycle. Evidently, they still don't think it "unfair" to discriminate based on race. Backers of the MCRI are appealing the ruling.

Meanwhile, the NAACP and ACLU have filed a separate lawsuit against the MCRI.

Civil rights organizations, including the NAACP's Detroit chapter and the American Civil Liberties Union, took their case to federal court. They argued the amendment doesn't apply because of a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court case affirming universities' right to consider race in admissions. (snip)

The NAACP's Anthony said the challenge isn't meant to defy Michigan citizens who voted 58% to 42% in favor of Proposal 2, which bans race and gender-based preferences in university admissions and government hiring and contracting.

The case is meant to force an interpretation of the law, Anthony said.

He added that under the current admissions policy, U-M may consider whether an applicant is the child of an alum or from specific parts of the state, therefore race and gender should be retained, he said.

How absurd. The dubious and conflicted Supreme Court ruling that precipitated this whole mess said that racial discrimination was allowed, not required. In fact, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's opinion explicitly said that states could ban this practice if they chose to.

Legal challenges against the California measure that was the model for the MCRI didn't succeed in more liberal courts, and these likely won't either. Still, liberals will do whatever they can to preserve racial discrimination.

Western Michigan University is not challenging the MCRI. President Haenicke was a supporter of the initiative. Western is reviewing its policies to bring them into compliance with the MCRI. Western apparently won't have to change that much.

Though the review is ongoing, after studying financial-aid, admissions, and other departments and practices, Western Michigan University won't have much to change in light of a new law banning some forms of affirmative action, Interim President Diether Haenicke, said.

Meanwhile, the backers of the MCRI are planning to take the fight to other states. Jennifer Gratz has signed on with Ward Connerly's organization, and they plan to push ballot initiatives in a number of other states. If they're smart, Republicans in those states will support the initiatives, not oppose them.