Taking the state backward. Again.

Every year, there are around 3,000 kids in Michigan who become eligible for adoption from foster care.

The Michigan GOP would rather these kids stay in foster care than be adopted by loving gay or lesbian parents. In addition to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act Amy has been covering so well, the Michigan House yesterday passed a law giving adoption agencies permission to discriminate against gay or lesbian families in adoption (I’m sorry, allow adoption agencies to “object on moral or religious grounds”). This is even though they receive taxpayer dollars, and even if such an adoption would be in the best interest of the child. …

Lame duck sessions in Michigan since 2010 are more accurately described as “inflamed duck” sessions. Michigan Republicans ram more bills through in a couple of weeks than they do nearly the entire rest of the year. Two years ago, for example, they passed – I’m not making this up – 282 bills during lame duck. So much happens so fast […]

In one day, it passed out of committee and is up for a House vote. Despite what the bill’s proponents claim, the RFRA would enshrine discrimination on religious grounds into state law. UPDATED following House vote. There’s still time to take action. See below. It’s happening even faster than we’d feared. Following a hearing, the Michigan House of Representatives House […]

Michigan’s Republican House Speaker Jase Bolger has been paying lip service to the LGBT community by saying that he supports expanding civil rights protects to them as long as it (a) doesn’t include transgender Michiganders and (b) is accompanied by a “license to discriminate” bill that allows anyone who wants to deny basic services to gays, lesbians, or bisexuals the […]

During the 2014 campaign in Michigan, we were told repeatedly that Republicans hadn’t cut education funding. Despite the fact that they had actually taken BILLIONS OF DOLLARS from our schools each year, the told us with a straight face that, despite all of the evidence to the contrary, they had increased funding for our classrooms. Now, just a few weeks […]

Right before the election, a voter from Lapeer County reached out to me to tell me he had received a call from the campaign of far-right candidate Todd Courser. When he informed the caller he would be voting for Courser’s opponent, she asked him, “Would you change your vote if you knew that Margaret Guerrero DeLuca had faggots and blacks […]

No one’s religious liberty is at risk, but the Michigan Legislature wants to use religion to infringe on the rights of others anyway. That didn’t take long. Less than two weeks after the midterm elections, Michigan Republicans began pushing a bill that would make it legal to discriminate on religious grounds Given the Republican majority in the Michigan Legislature — […]

Back in September, I wrote about how Michigan Republicans, facing massive pressure from across the state – including from the business community they worship with such reverance – started discussing updating the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include civil rights protections for the LGB community. They had no intention, I had heard at the time, of including protections for “gender […]

On Monday, President Obama came out in strong support of net neutrality, the idea that large telecommunications companies should not be allowed to create “fast lanes” on the internet for their partners or companies willing to pay for the benefit. Republicans quickly jumped all over this, suggesting that President Obama wants to “regulate the internet”. For example, presidential candidate Ted […]

Prove to your constituents that you care about everyone in the state — not just big-money special interests. Dear Governor Snyder: I didn’t vote for you in either election, but you are Michigan’s governor. I haven’t agreed with you on much, but you did support Medicaid expansion in Michigan, although you could have done a lot more to urge the […]

Below I am crossposting a piece written by Walt Sorg and published at his blog The Michigan Curmudgeon. Walt has held senior positions in all three branches of Michigan state government, serving under Speaker Bobby Crim and Governor Jim Blanchard as well as at the State Bar of Michigan. He began his 48-year tenure in or around Michigan government as […]