A woman is taking her case to the Michigan Supreme Court after suing a gym chain for their “no judgment” policy for transgender members.
Yvette Cormier first made headlines in 2015 after she lost her membership to #PlanetFitness for a complaint about a trans woman using the women’s locker room at her local gym in Midland, Michigan.
The incident occurred when Cormier looked to front desk staff to complain about “someone who looked like a man” entering the women’s locker room. After the staff informed her about the company’s “no judgment” policy, she continued to return to the gym to forewarn other gym members that Planet Fitness “let men in the women’s locker room.”, according to reports.
Eventually, Cormier lost her membership to the gym and filed a lawsuit against Planet Fitness, claiming that “canceling membership without making her fully aware of its policies is a breach of contract.” She also alleged that Planet Fitness violated the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act by banning her from the gym, which prohibits discrimination in Michigan against “religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status in employment, housing, education and access to public accommodations.”
In an interview with #CNN in 2015, Cormier said, “I didn’t go out to specifically bash a transgender person that day. I was taken aback by the situation.” She added, “This is about me and how I felt unsafe. I should feel safe in there.”
In January 2016, the case was dismissed by a Midland County Circuit Court judge. Now, over a year later, Cormier is filing an appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court.
“The Yvette Cormiers of the world are being told you are going to accept our point of view and it is being crammed down their throats,” said Cormier’s attorney, David A. Kallman, to the Midland Daily News. “It shouldn’t be one side wins and the other side loses. There needs to be some middle ground here. The courts need to step in and provide some clarity.” He added, “Privacy rights of women and men should be upheld vs. somebody’s own belief.”
Discover more from Baller Alert
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
