Michigan
WATCH: Michigan State Sen. Mallory McMorrow calls out GOP attacks on LGBTQ+ people
“Christianity has been weaponized by Republicans to make people hate gay and trans kids,” McMorrow told the Blade.
Michigan State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, accused by a Republican colleague of wanting to “groom and sexualize kindergarteners” because of her advocacy for LGBTQ youth in schools, denounced the allegations in a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday that has since gone viral.
In an exclusive interview Wednesday with The Los Angeles Blade, McMorrow said it is everyone’s responsibility to stand up to these types of attacks, which have been on the rise among Republican lawmakers who have sought to scapegoat vulnerable groups and weaponize hatred for their own political ends.
Senator Lana Theis accused me by name of grooming and sexualizing children in an attempt to marginalize me for standing up against her marginalizing the LGBTQ community…in a fundraising email, for herself.
— Mallory McMorrow (@MalloryMcMorrow) April 19, 2022
Hate wins when people like me stand by and let it happen. I won’t. pic.twitter.com/jL5GU42bTv
These tactics, often used to compensate for the GOP’s lack of any real policy solutions to offer voters, have been effective in the past – and there is therefore a moral as well as a political obligation to address them “head-on,” McMorrow said.
“We’ve seen this playbook time and time again,” she said, pointing to former president Donald Trump’s incitement of hatred against Mexican immigrants in his announcement of his candidacy in 2015. And “when I spoke to voters [in Michigan] about their number one concerns, so many people talked about immigration and caravans coming from the southern border” even though the state borders Canada, McMorrow said.
Confronted with allegations by Republicans that they are pedophiles, or that their support of LGBTQ youth is an endorsement of pedophilia, Democrats may be reluctant to engage either because the claims are so outrageous or because they detract from real, substantive policy discussions, McMorrow said. But Democrats must address these attacks, she said, to denounce them and to make clear that they are meant to deflect the conversation away from issues that really impact people’s lives.
Michigan’s Republican Senator Lana Theis leveled the pedophilia charge against McMorrow in a fundraising email that also – based on her support for curricula that addresses America’s record on race – accused McMorrow of wanting to teach schoolchildren that they bore responsibility for slavery.
In her speech before the Michigan Senate, which was viewed more than 8 million times on Twitter and shared by public figures including Hillary Clinton, McMorrow discussed her position as “a straight, white, Christian, married, suburban mom” in denouncing her colleague’s unfounded, bad-faith allegations.
“I know that hate will only win if people like me stand by and let it happen,” she said. “And I want to be very clear right now: Call me whatever you want. I know who I am. I know what faith and service mean, and what it calls for in this moment. We will not let hate win.”
She told the Blade that she hopes other women in her position will use their privilege to speak out against hate and reclaim the mantle of faith that has been coopted by those who seek to marginalize others. “Christianity has been weaponized by Republicans to make people hate gay and trans kids,” McMorrow said. “They’re targeting kids, and that is so beyond the pale.”
McMorrow said she will leave it up to her Senate colleagues to decide if formal action should be taken with respect to Theis – who, she noted, faces a Republican primary challenge and may have resorted to extreme rhetoric for this reason. McMorrow said that while some former GOP officials and staffers have pledged their support for her, none of her colleagues on the other side of the aisle have addressed the issue, not even privately.
Theis, for her part, addressed the matter in a tweet in which she accused McMorrow of capitalizing on the controversy to fundraise.
🧵 Sen. McMorrow is not naïve about politics and fundraising. I know that because it took her mere minutes to turn her Senate floor speech into a plea for campaign donations. 1/t
— Lana Theis (@LanaTheis) April 20, 2022
Despite the certainty of a veto from Michigan’s Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the state’s overwhelmingly Republican legislature has introduced several bills targeting trans youth, including measures to ban their participation in sports, McMorrow said.
Republican legislatures across the country are considering or have passed anti-LGBTQ legislation aimed at young people in public schools, with controversies erupting in recent months over Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which prohibits any discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels, potentially criminalizing a teacher’s mention of her same-sex partner. Texas’s pursuit of “child abuse” charges against parents and providers who allow trans youth to access gender-affirming health care also made headlines earlier this year.
Just as McMorrow experienced, proponents of these bills, and Republican lawmakers more broadly, have sometimes resorted to the shameful tactic of slandering their opponents – Democrats, LGBTQ people and their allies – as pedophiles or enablers of child abuse.
Governor Ron DeSantis’s spokesperson tweeted in March that opponents of the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill are “groomers” or people who “don’t denounce the grooming of 4-8 year old children.”
The charge echoes Anita Bryant’s “Save the Children” campaign in the 1970s, through which she argued against protections for gay men and lesbians on the grounds that they sought to recruit and abuse children. More recent roots can be found in the rise of the right-wing QAnon conspiracy theory, which inspired a gunman to fire shots in a DC pizzeria in 2016, convinced that Democrats were abusing kids in its basement. Last month, during her confirmation hearings, Republican Senators accused Biden’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, of being soft on child abuse – despite her objectively mainstream sentencing record.
Following her viral speech on the Michigan Senate floor, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow says our obligation to speak up against hate is moral as well as political
There is a very real risk that unfounded allegations and conspiracy theories concerning pedophilia and child abuse can inspire real violence, McMorrow said, adding that she has received concerned messages from friends who feared she might be targeted over the attacks in Theis’s fundraising email. “It’s a very real threat,” she said.
While it was painful to read that email and unsettling to think about what its allegations could inspire, McMorrow emphasized that the pain with which marginalized people, her LGBTQ friends and colleagues – and LGBTQ youth, in particular – must live, every day, is far greater.
Michigan
Progressives score victory as El-Sayed wins Mich. Senate primary
Democratic newcomer will face Rogers in November
Michigan held its primary on Tuesday, allowing the two major political parties to select their nominees to go head-to-head for the state’s U.S. Senate seat.
NBC News called the Democratic race early, giving the victory to physician Abdul El-Sayed over incumbent U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) in an extremely close primary. El-Sayed won 48.5 percent of the primary vote, with Stevens trailing by just one percentage point at 47.5 percent.
Both candidates have campagined on supporting the LGBTQ community through different avenues— for El-Sayed he focused on his past promoting HIV and PrEP funding and research. Stevens focused on her legislative history working to support transgender rights in the state.
This is a major win for progressive Democrats, who have been bearing the brunt of political attacks from President Donald Trump, the Republican Party, and centrist Democrats.
El-Sayed, a former health director in Detroit, ran his campaign largely on making life in the Great Lakes State more affordable amid rising costs. His policies include promoting “Medicare for All,” pushing health policy that targets the regressive efforts of the Trump-Vance administration that rolls back funding for both Women and LGBTQ people, minimizing the growing amount of money in politics, and he was very vocal in his criticism of Stevens for supporting aid to Israel. He was endorsed by two major progressives — U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.).
Stevens, the four-term congresswoman, is much closer to establishment Democrats on policy than El-Sayed.
During her time in the federal government, she has consistently supported the Equality Act, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. She has also emphasized supporting local manufacturing and lowering housing costs in the state.
She was named to Advocates for Trans Equality’s 118th Congressional Champions list for her pro-trans policies and was endorsed by establishment heavy hitters Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
The contentious race boiled down not only to Michigan affairs but also extended to international conflicts — namely Palestine. (South Africa has filed a case in the International Court of Justice in The Hague that accuses Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip after Oct. 7.) This primary also acted as one of the first major races that pushed back against AIPAC, a lobbying group that works to promote pro-Israel candidates in U.S. elections. The group has been involved in domestic politics since 1954.
AIPAC devoted a massive amount of money to this race.
The Associated Press reported that the pro-Israel lobbying group spent more than $30 million on ads against El-Sayed because of his vocal denunciation of Israel and his continued criticism of its policies towards Palestine.
Michigan has a large Muslim and Arab American population, which could, in part, explain how El-Sayed was able to win.
The Republican side was far less competitive. Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) ran unopposed and clinched the GOP nomination. He has consistently held anti-LGBTQ positions, going as far as voting multiple times for a federal constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, voting against repealing the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, and supporting efforts to directly target the attempted expansion of Title IX protections to include trans people.
El-Sayed will face off against Rogers in November for Michigan’s Senate seat — one that could have lasting impacts not only on the state’s politics but also on the Republicans’ narrow Senate majority and Trump’s political agenda.
Michigan
FBI thwarts Halloween terror plot targeting Mich. LGBTQ bars
Two suspects arrested with arsenal of weapons and tactical gear
By SARAH BRICKER HUNT | Two men are facing federal terrorism charges after allegedly planning a Halloween attack on LGBTQ+ bars in Ferndale, according to criminal complaints unsealed in federal court Nov. 3.
Momed Ali and Majed Mahmoud were arrested Oct. 31 by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, which seized tactical gear, AR-15-style rifles, ammunition and other evidence from a Dearborn home and an Inkster storage unit. The 72-page complaint says the men, along with other co-conspirators including a minor, were inspired by Islamic State extremism and had scouted LGBTQ+ venues in Ferndale.
According to the New York Post, the suspects discussed copying the November 2015 coordinated ISIS attacks in Paris that killed 130 people. Surveillance footage from gun ranges shows Ali and Mahmoud practicing shooting with firearms, the Post reports.
The Paris attacks involved gunmen and suicide bombers who launched coordinated assaults on multiple locations throughout the French capital, including the Bataclan concert hall, the Stade de France stadium and several restaurants and cafes. The Bataclan attack was the deadliest, with attackers opening fire on concertgoers and taking hostages.
Multiple media outlets are reporting that the suspects discussed doing “the same thing as France” in reference to the Paris attacks, and mentioned potential attacks at clubs or discos similar to the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando that killed 49 people. Investigators discovered the suspects repeatedly referred to “pumpkins” in their conversations, which authorities identified as code for a Halloween-themed attack.
Ali purchased a shotgun, an AR-15-style rifle and a forced reset trigger that increases the rate of fire in semiautomatic weapons, according to federal documents. Mahmoud purchased an AR-15-style rifle and more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition.
In September, Ali, Mahmoud and the minor made multiple trips to Ferndale, traveling to an area on Woodward Avenue near East Nine Mile that includes numerous clubs and bars that attract members of the LGBTQ+ community, according to the FBI.
“Our American heroes prevented a terror attack,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X following the arrests.
Both men have been charged with receiving and transferring guns and ammunition for terrorism and appeared in court Nov. 3. One defense attorney declined to comment, while another dismissed the allegations over the weekend as “hysteria” and “fearmongering.”
Popular Ferndale LGBTQ+ bar Soho posted to Facebook following news of the arrests.
“Soho is aware of recent reports concerning a potential threat directed toward businesses in our area. While it appears we were not targeted directly, we commend and deeply appreciate the swift and thorough response of local and federal law enforcement agencies in addressing the matter and ensuring the safety of our community,” the statement read.
The bar emphasized its confidence in local law enforcement. “We have always felt safe in the Ferndale community thanks to our close relationship with local law enforcement and their ongoing diligence and support.”
Soho’s statement also condemned targeting the LGBTQ+ community: “It is abhorrent that the LGBTQ+ community would ever be targeted — a community that stands for tolerance, unity, and peace.”
The bar confirmed its operations continue as normal and expressed gratitude for community support.
Meanwhile, Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter posted to Facebook, “Learning that Ferndale and the LGBTQ+ community were among the potential targets of a terrorist attack is disturbing. The pain of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy in Orlando nine years ago while I was serving as mayor of Ferndale is still deeply felt in the community. I’m grateful for the FBI, Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement for their diligence in seeking out and preventing what could have been another mass tragedy.”
Michigan
Mich. lawmaker introduces resolution asking SCOTUS to overturn Obergefell
Far-right lawmaker stripped from committee assignments for extreme rhetoric
Republican Michigan state Rep. Josh Schriver introduced a resolution Tuesday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, which established the nationwide right to same-sex marriage.
The lawmaker announced the move in a post on X, having previously shared a press release announcing plans to file the resolution, which argues that same-sex marriage is “at odds with the sanctity of marriage, the Michigan constitution, and principles upon which the country was established.”
The Resolution to Restore Marriage
— Rep. Josh Schriver (@JoshuaSchriver) February 25, 2025
✅ Introduced pic.twitter.com/UrX1zSdmUf
Schriver’s resolution has 12 co-sponsors, and similar measures have been introduced in other states including Idaho, Iowa, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Responding to one of his posts advocating for the overturning of Obergefell in December, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, said “any attempt to strip away gay marriage is wrong.”
Last month, the far-right politician was heard telling colleagues in leaked audio that gender affirming healthcare should be banned for minors as well as adults: “If we are going to stop this for anyone under 18, why not apply it for anyone over 18? It’s harmful across the board and that’s something we need to take into consideration in terms of the endgame.”
Earlier this month, he proposed banning birth control and reposted a message promoting the white nationalist Great Replacement conspiracy theory, the latter leading to Michigan House Minority Leader Matt Hall’s (R) decision to remove Schriver from his committee assignments.
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