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Before we jump into the news this week, just a quick thank you! Thank you to everyone who’s given so far during our spring membership drive. Your support powers reporting from D.C. to Lansing and makes shows - and newsletters - like It’s Just Politics possible! Now, let’s jump into the news:
Michigan may (or maybe not) be nearing a full-circle moment on same-sex marriage.
A state Senate committee held a hearing this week on a measure that could lead to the repeal of the same-sex marriage ban in Michigan’s Constitution.
A quick history
In the 1990s, Michigan joined the parade of states that enacted laws to bar formal recognition of same-sex marriages and civil unions. In 1995, the Legislature adopted and Republican Governor John Engler signed laws to ban same-sex marriage and refused to recognize unions performed in other states.
Opposition to formalizing same-sex unions at that time was bipartisan as Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1996 signed the Defense of Marriage Act refusing federal recognition of those relationships.
In 2004, Michigan voters went further than the law adopted by the Legislature and placed that ban in the state constitution.
SUPCO rules
Exactly a dozen years ago tomorrow, Detroit U.S. District Court Judge Bernard Friedman issued the ruling striking down Michigan’s same sex marriage ban, which sent hundreds of same-sex couples rushing to courthouses to get married before a federal appeals court panel shut that down pending further review. That also put the case on a path to the U.S. Supreme Court, which struck down same-sex marriage bans in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee in 2015.
The Supreme Court held at the time that marriage bans violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution. But times have changed and the Supreme Court has changed. On abortion, the conservative-leaning court held in the Dobbs decision that reproductive rights don’t have constitutional protections because those are not specifically spelled out. Some justices have indicated they’re open to a similar argument should a new marriage case wind up before the court.
Reversing the marriage amendment
State Senator Jeremy Moss (D-Bloomfield Township) told Rick this week that’s a danger signal.
“In Michigan, we have that now-unconstitutional language in our constitution banning same-sex marriage, so we have to get rid of it,” he said.
There are also movements in a number of states to reverse their same-sex marriage bans like Michigan’s that remain officially but idly on the books.
The state Senate committee did not vote this week to send Moss’s resolution to the floor, which could easily be done on a party-line vote. Moss says he’d like to keep working on winning over some Republicans since it would take two-thirds supermajorities in both chambers to get a question on the ballot.
Moss says he thinks more Republicans may be on board given the opportunity. He noted that, when a GOP state lawmaker dropped a non-binding resolution asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider the marriage decision, the House GOP leadership treated it like a hot potato.
House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) promptly sent it to a graveyard committee. Hall said the House GOP caucus is divided on the issue.
Getting a ballot resolution that requires supermajorities through a divided Legislature in time for the general election would be a heavy lift. The parties would undoubtedly be considering how this would affect voter turnout. Another proposal would mean more competition for donations and other resources.
And it would add another variable to an already crowded and unpredictable electoral table.
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Have questions about Michigan politics? Or, just want to let us know what you want more of (less of?) in the newsletter? We always want to hear from you! Shoot us an email at politics@michiganpublic.org!
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What we’re talking about at the dinner table
More amending pending? You know who else wants to amend the Michigan Constitution? Republican Speaker Matt Hall said this week he’d like to amend the constitution to require that supermajority votes are needed to pass new bills during the Legislature’s lame duck session. That’s that period of time after an election but before new elected lawmakers are sworn in. In a press conference, Hall said lame duck sessions should be used for routine issues and not to tackle controversial questions. Like we pointed out above, it would require two-thirds supermajorities in the House and the Senate to put a proposal to amend the state constitution on the statewide ballot.
Petition fraudster sentenced: A key figure in Michigan’s 2022 fake petition signature scandal that tanked multiple political campaigns has received a four-year prison sentence. The scandal, the Associated Press reports, “spoiled the candidacies of five Republicans who were running for Michigan governor in 2022. But a suburban Detroit judge agreed to allow Shawn Wilmoth to stay out of prison while he appeals his convictions for forgery and other crimes, saying the case was unusual. He still must post a bond. ‘A case like this has never been seen before’ in Michigan, Judge James Maceroni said. Candidates hired Wilmoth to help them get 15,000 signatures from voters to qualify for the Republican primary ballot four years ago. State elections staff, however, believe people simply sat at a table, signed petitions and passed them around. The petitions were full of bogus signatures and, as a result, the candidates didn’t have enough valid ones to qualify. No candidate was accused of knowing about the scheme.”
Doctor deal reached: There appears to be a bipartisan agreement in the Legislature to prevent thousands of doctors from losing their ability to practice in Michigan. “That’s thanks to a deal the Democratic-led state Senate and Republican-led House reached Thursday. The deal would put Michigan back into an interstate compact to recognize some out-of-state physician licenses. Michigan’s membership expired last year and the state only has about a week to rejoin. Both legislative chambers supported adding Michigan back into the agreement. But bills spent months waiting to pass. Now, the Senate says it will take up a House-passed bill next week,” Michigan Public Radio Network’s Colin Jackson reports.
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Yours in political nerdiness,
Rick Pluta & Zoe Clark
Co-hosts, It’s Just Politics
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