Michigan GOP Rep. Josh Schriver says same-sex marriage should be "illegal again"
(CBS DETROIT) - Michigan GOP Rep. Josh Schriver took to social media on Monday to speak on same-sex marriage, saying, "Make gay marriage illegal again."
In a post on X, the lawmaker from Oxford added, "This is not remotely controversial, nor extreme." Schriver also shared a short video of then-Sen. Barack Obama in 2004, saying that marriage "is between a man and woman." In 2012, while he was president, Obama said his position on same-sex marriage had evolved and that same-sex couples should have the ability to get married.
"America only 'accepted' gay marriage after it was thrusted into her by a perverted Supreme Court ruling. America 2124 doesn't have to be as dysfunctional as America 2024," Schriver said in the post.
Schriver was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2022 and represents parts of Macomb and Oakland counties.
CBS News Detroit has contacted Schriver for comment and is waiting to hear back.
Attorney General Dana Nessel, Michigan's first openly gay statewide officeholder and married to Plymouth City Commissioner Alanna Maguire, reacted negatively to Schriver's statements.
"Please explain how dissolving my marriage, or that of the hundreds of thousands of other same-sex couples living in America, provides a benefit to your constituents or anyone else. You're not interested in helping Michiganders. You want only to hurt those you hate. Shame on you," Nessel said on X.
Democratic Rep. Jason Morgan, of Ann Arbor, also criticized Schriver on Monday, saying, "A fellow representative is saying my marriage to the man I love should be illegal. This is definitely both controversial and extreme, along with anti-family. I grew up believing I'd never be able to get married and I'm not going back."
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sent CBS News Detroit the following statement: "Any attempt to strip away gay marriage is wrong. Here in Michigan, we protected fundamental rights because no one should be fired from a job, evicted from their home, or unable to marry because of who they love. Michigan is a place for all to live and work with dignity, and I'm going to fight like hell to keep it that way."
The U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage on June 26, 2015, in a 5-4 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling. It declares the 14th Amendment requires all states to perform same-sex marriages and recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
"No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family," then-Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority.
In March 2014, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman ruled that Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. The state urged Friendman to respect the results of a 2004 election in which 59% of voters approved a constitutional amendment that said marriage in Michigan could only be between a man and a woman. However, Friedman, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988, said, "Many Michigan residents have religious convictions whose principles govern the conduct of their daily lives and inform their own viewpoints about marriage. Nonetheless, these views cannot strip other citizens of the guarantees of equal protection under the law."
The discussion of Obergefell v. Hodges came back to light after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022. Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that the decision to overturn the federal abortion rights law could trigger similar outcomes for other landmark cases, including protection over same-sex marriage.
"In the future, we should reconsider all of this Court's substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence and Obergefell," Thomas wrote at the time.
After the 2024 presidential election, some people in the LGBTQ community spoke with CBS News, expressing concerns about losing discrimination protections under President-elect Trump's second term and wondering if the 2015 ruling would return to the states.
Schriver echoed the idea of overturning Obergefell v. Hodges, telling The Detroit News that the Supreme Court has the power to do so.
The GOP lawmaker is no stranger to facing criticism after making a social media post.
In February 2024, he lost his staff and committee assignment after posting about the "great replacement" theory, a racist ideology that White people are being replaced through immigration, interracial relationships and low birth rates from white individuals.
Schriver shared a post on X showing a map of the world with black figures covering most of the land and white figures placed in a small portion, including the northern area of the United States, Canada, parts of Australia and parts of northern Europe. Over the photo of the map was a text that read, "The great replacement!"
Schriver reposted the image and captioned it with an emoji that showed a graph with a line that depicted a decline in data.
Several state officials, including Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, condemned Schriver's post on the "great replacement" theory.
