GOP Senate leaders postpone Pride Month vote after passing resolution last year 

A year after adopting a resolution for the first time recognizing June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month, Republican leaders in the Michigan Senate delayed a vote Tuesday on a similar resolution.

Put forward by Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield), the first openly gay senator in Michigan, the GOP majority postponed consideration of Senate Resolution 149. No reason was given, nor was a timeline on when it might be taken up again.

This comes after some GOP senators recently have fundraised off of anti-LGBTQ+ attacks, with Sen. Lana Theis (R-Brighton) naming Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) in an April email that appeared to accuse her of “grooming” children because she supports LGBTQ+ rights. McMorrow responded in a floor speech calling the baseless accusations “hateful.” The video that went viral and won the praise of leaders like President Joe Biden.

Moss had attempted twice before, in 2019 and 2020, to get the resolution passed before finally achieving success in 2021, as the Advance previously reported. 

The 2021 resolution had bipartisan sponsorship with Sens. Jim Stamas (R-Midland) and Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City) both signing on, along with 15 Democratic co-sponsors. 

However, this year, Schmidt was the lone Republican co-sponsor.

The resolution noted the struggle of the LGBTQ+ movement with a “slow and insufficient government response to assist those with HIV/AIDS and the ongoing effort today to protect the rights of the LGBTQ community,” as well the victories including “the historic Obergefell decision in 2015 which affirmed marriage equality nationwide and the recent Bostock decision in 2020 that upheld federal employment protections for the LGBTQ community”.

The Obergefell decision in particular is believed to be in jeopardy of being overturned if the U.S.Supreme Court rules against Roe v. Wade, as is expected later this month.

June was first recognized federally as Pride Month in 1999 by then-President Bill Clinton. Biden formally declared June as Pride Month last week. 

Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also has declared June 2022 as Pride Month. The resolution notes that “Michigan is home to an estimated 373,000 residents who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+)” and “Michigan’s LGBTQ+ residents contribute to the fabric of our society, hold positions across sectors of our economy, and live in every corner of our state.”