Respect for Marriage Act passes Congress. Here’s what we know.
Congress has passed historic legislation protecting same-sex marriage rights. Here’s what the Respect for Marriage Act does.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
A state representative on Tuesday introduced a resolution urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its 2015 decision making same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states.
In a brief news conference after the House session, state Rep. Josh Schriver, R-Oxford, said the high court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, “defaced the definition of marriage, undermined our God-given rights, increased persecution of Christians and confused the American family structure.”
He also said that children raised by same-sex couples face more challenges in education, employment and self-sufficiency, though he did not provide any evidence to back up his claims.
He ended his news conference by calling on conservatives to “do the right thing,” reassert the “sovereignty of Christ as our King,” and “restore the order of the family.”
He did not take questions from the news media.
Initially, Schriver’s office said his resolution had 12 co-sponsors but when presented during the state House of Representatives’ session, Schriver’s name was accompanied by only six others, all conservative state legislators.
The resolution was referred to the House Committee on Government Operations, which is where proposals typically go to die.
Even if it wasn’t nearly assured death in committee, Schriver’s resolution would carry no legal weight. It is not actionable. The U.S. Supreme Court does not revisit cases based on resolutions from state legislators.
But Schriver’s move comes at a time when members of the LGBTQ+ community are nervous because their rights are under siege.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order threatening to withhold federal funding from hospitals that provide transgender people under age 19 with gender-affirming medical treatment. Two federal judges have paused Trump’s action as the executive order is being challenged in federal court. In another executive order, Trump declared the policy of the United States is to recognize two genders, male and female, and that those were assigned at birth.
In addition, Idaho’s State House of Representatives voted to support a resolution similar to Schriver’s.
Meanwhile, Schriver’s action drew outrage from Democrats, civil rights and advocacy organizations.
“In Michigan, everyone has the freedom to marry who they love,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a brief video broadcast over Facebook. “It’s not only the law of the land, it’s a nonnegotiable. Right now, however, some extreme members of the Michigan Legislature are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn marriage equality. Here’s my response to that: Hell, no.”
Jay Kaplan of the American Civil Liberties Union Michigan called Schriver’s move “largely a cruel, symbolic gesture. It has no legal effect.
“With all the issues impacting Michiganders, with issues regarding the economy … why is he introducing this resolution? It’s merely a distraction. The court made clear 10 years ago the right to get married is a fundamental right and to deny that to same-sex couples … is unconstitutional.”
Of Schriver, Kaplan added: “If he’s against same-sex marriage, he doesn’t have to have one.”
State Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, who attended Schriver’s briefing, took questions after the representative left the room.
“This was just as buffoonish as I expected it to be,” Moss said. “… I think people respect their LGBTQ neighbors, their LBGTQ family members … They contribute to family security, to economic security for people here in the state of Michigan.”
Schriver is no stranger to controversy. Last year, he lost his staff and committee assignment when he touted a racist conspiracy theory on X, formerly Twitter. The widely discredited theory, known as the great replacement theory, posits that there is a top secret operation underway to replace white people in majority-white countries.
Free Press staff writer Clara Hendrickson contributed to this report.
Contact Georgea Kovanis: gkovanis@freepress.com
Seven Michigan high school marching bands are competing this weekend at the Bands of America grand nationals competition.
The competition is held each year in Indianapolis, Ind., at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts.
More than 100 high school marching bands will compete Thursday and Friday in the preliminary round of competition, then the top 32 bands will move on to the semifinal round on Saturday.
Only the top 12 bands will get the chance to perform their competition shows one last time Saturday night in the finals. Members of all 12 bands that make finals will receive medals for their accomplishments. The prize for the best band in the nation is a coveted eagle-shaped trophy.
On Thursday, three Michigan bands were scheduled to take the field throughout the day, including Huron Valley’s band at 9:45 a.m., Mt. Pleasant at 4:45 p.m. and Tri County at 8:30 p.m.
Friday, four more Michigan bands will perform in preliminary competition. Those ensembles are back-to-back state champions Walled Lake at 1:15 p.m., Rockford at 3 p.m., state champion Jenison at 4:30 p.m. and Plymouth-Canton at 6 p.m.
Additionally, the Michigan State University Spartan Marching Band will be performing in exhibition at the competition at 8:45 p.m. Friday night. The Spartan Marching Band will be performing a show of popular Broadway hits.
The Michigan high school bands will be competing against marching bands from states including Texas, Indiana, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Ohio, and, for only the second time ever, Alaska.
Marching bands will be judged on their music, their marching, their visual storytelling and more. Each band has been working since the early summer to perfect their 8-12 minute show, often featuring choreography, complex themes, props, costume changes and more.
To watch a livestream of the Bands of America Grand Nationals competition, visit the event website here. It is a paid livestream, with costs depending on which day and round of competition. To watch Thursday or Friday prelims, it is $20 per day. It costs $27 to watch semifinals on Saturday and another $32 to watch finals. To watch all rounds of competition, viewers can buy a $68 package.
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Washtenaw County residents protest Michigan Medicine’s overhaul on gender-affirming care
ANN ARBOR, MI — JJ McKillop, leader of the LGBTQ+ teenage group True Hope, was willing to bear about 45-degree temperatures Wednesday in Ann Arbor to protest her alma mater.
McKillop, a parent of a transgender child and 1994 graduate of the University of Michigan, said she is “ashamed” by Michigan Medicine’s August decision to end gender-affirming care for minors.
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Frances Mauro Masters watched as a Rosie the Riveter statue was unveiled on Tuesday in Royal Oak, Michigan. The 103-year-old was the inspiration for the newest addition at the Michigan WW2 Legacy Memorial.
The city of Royal Oak shared a video of the unveiling, with Masters standing beside it. According to the city, Masters worked at the Willow Run bomber plant in Ypsilanti during World War II.
The statue was created by sculptor Oleg Kedria, who also created a statue that was installed at the memorial in 2023. That statue depicted a soldier reading a letter.
John Marten, board president of the WW2 Legacy Memorial, said the Rosie the Riveter statue is part of an expansion of the memorial that included an expanded Walk of Honor, which includes bricks with the names of people who had a role in World War II.
“Rosie represents the significant contribution of home front women to the Arsenal of Democracy, who kept production lines rolling. We are especially honored that 103-year-old Frances Mauro Masters, a riveter from the Ford Willow Run WWII bomber plant in Ypsilanti, is the inspiration for the face of the statue,” Maten in September.
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