AG Dana Nessel Calls Out Michigan GOP Lawmaker Who Wants to Ban Same-Sex Marriage
'Shame on you,' Nessel tweets
There are few elected officials more staunch in their defense of LGBTQ+ rights than Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
On Monday, recently re-elected state rep Josh Schriver (R-Oxford) said gay marriage should be made “illegal again” in a post on X. If that wasn’t disgusting enough, he doubled down, adding, “This is not remotely controversial, nor extreme."
Nessel, who’s been married to a woman since 2015, disagreed.
She swiftly responded on X, writing, “Please explain how dissolving my marriage, or that of the hundreds of thousands of other same-sex couples living in America, provides a benefit to your constituents or anyone else. You’re not interested in helping Michiganders. You want only to hurt those you hate. Shame on you.”
When pressed by the Detroit News on how his rhetoric was uncontroversial, Schriver spouted off a series of Bible passages. Shocker.
Schriver even went as far as to post a 2004 video of former President Barack Obama in which he talks about how marriage is "between a man and a woman” — using the dated footage as evidence of widespread support of his radical claims.
"America only 'accepted' gay marriage after it was thrust into her by a perverted Supreme Court ruling," he said in the comments of that video.
Later that evening, Nessel expanded on her earlier statement on X, writing, “Republicans are coming for our marriages and, if Project 2025 is any indication, their agenda goes far beyond economic policy or national security. It’s about erasing the rights of those they don’t value or anyone who is different from them.”
While Schriver may want to turn back the clock, he doesn’t actually have the power to do so — at least for now. Due to gay marriage being made legal nationwide through a Supreme Court ruling, Schriver lacks the power to change the policy from his Michigan House seat.
However, Schriver’s comments shouldn’t be written off as meaningless — they’re significant because they represent views found in the newly Republican-majority state house. And furthermore, his comments on Supreme Court rulings, while outlandish, are legitimately concerning.
Gay marriage was made legal in 2015 through a 5-4 decision; now the Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority. This makes the status of gay marriage more uncertain than before, especially in light of comments made by Justice Clarence Thomas, who argued in a concurring opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson case that overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 that the Supreme Court “should reconsider” rulings that have codified rights to contraception access, same-sex relationships and same-sex marriage.
Should the worst happen at the federal level, staunch, vocal advocates like Nessel will be more important than ever for LGBTQ+ Michiganders.
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