Whitmer to Michigan lawmaker trying to overturn same-sex marriage: ‘Hell, no!’

• Michigan state Rep. Josh Schriver wants U.S. Supreme Court to overturn same-sex marriage
• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Dems say ‘Hell, no!’ to his plan
• Resolution referred to committee; no further action anticipated

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