Anti-trans* woman sues Planet Fitness for cancelling her membership.

[davidn3600]

17. Her lawyers are extreme right-wingers

Cormier’s representation by Kallman Legal Group is likely not a coincidence. David and Stephen Kallman, a father and son team, already have a reputation for opposing LGBT equality in Michigan. In October of 2013, they submitted a legal memo challenging proposed LGBT nondiscrimination protections in Delta Township, claiming that the ordinance would violate others’ religious freedom. The memo compared homosexuality to extramarital sex, polygamy, pedophilia, serial killer rapists, necrophilia, bestiality, and incest and suggested that because gender identity is “internal to the person,” someone accused of discrimination would be required to be a “mind-reader” not to discriminate. Their suit against Planet Fitness for respecting how individuals self-identify their gender seems to disprove this last concern.

In addition to his legal practice, David Kallman serves on the board of the Colorado-based Salt and Light Global ministries, which believes the Bible is infallible and seeks to impose God’s law “in every social sphere in every community.” Both Kallmans also serve as legal counsel for the Great Lakes Justice Center, which has published issue briefs similarly rejecting LGBT protections as a violation of religious liberty and describing such laws as an attempt to promote “civil acceptance of homosexual conduct through the force of law.”

In 2000 and 2001, David Kallman represented the American Family Association of Michigan when it fought the creation of a gay-straight alliance at Jackson High School in Jackson, Michigan. At the time, he compared the proposed club to a “group that encourages smoking pot,” describing homosexuality as dangerous because of higher rates of HIV infection. State Rep. Gary Glenn (R), who continues to serve as president of the American Family Association of Michigan, has also spoken out against the Planet Fitness policy and some transgender activists worry he may introduce legislation criminalizing transgender bathroom usage.

http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2015/03/24/3638044/planet-fitness-transgender-lawsuit/