Christian Nationalist GOP lawmaker calls for making "gay marriage illegal again"
Michigan State Rep. Josh Schriver wants to strip civil rights based on his Christian faith
This newsletter is free, but it’s only able to sustain itself due to the support I receive from a small percentage of regular readers. Would you please consider becoming one of those supporters? You can use the button below to subscribe to Substack or use my usual Patreon page!
A Michigan lawmaker declared that same-sex marriage should be “illegal again,” revealing one unsurprising item on the Republican Party’s wishlist.
State Rep. Josh Schriver made the comment on Monday on X/Twitter:
That was the first thing he tweeted after taking a week off for a family trip. Which makes you wonder what the hell happened on his family trip.
Undoing marriage equality, which would absolutely be both controversial and extreme, has been a cause for concern every since conservative Supreme Court justices announced it ought to be repealed in the wake of the overturning of Roe. If abortion rights is up for grabs based on where you live, then same-sex marriage could be next on the chopping block.
Schriver just won his second election by a comfortable margin in a red district, and Republicans in the state managed to win back the House, defeating a Democratic trifecta. That means Republicans thankfully won’t be in any position to pass laws opposing civil rights, but bills that would otherwise be completely ignored could get through at least one chamber of the legislature.
Despite his short history in office, Schriver has established a reputation as someone who says idiotic things in the name of Christ.
For example, last year, just before Christmas, The Satanic Temple-West Michigan requested and received permission to put up a “Yule Goat,” a.k.a. an altar of Baphomet, outside the Capitol since it was an open forum.
Schriver was one of seven Republican lawmakers who signed onto a letter calling on the Michigan Capitol Commission to remove the display entirely, claiming it contradicted the “foundational principles of our nation” and was a “public display of evil.” (They didn’t explain what was so evil about it, nor did they seem to understand how the law doesn’t allow the Commission to pick and choose which displays can go up as long as they meet the baseline requirements.)
Schriver must have known a letter wouldn’t rile up his base, though—too much reading, I assume—so he then made a video in front of the display, falsely suggesting it promoted Satan, “who lies, steals, kills, and destroys.” He wrote on X/Twitter, “In the name of Jesus Christ, I rebuke the sadistic satanic baphomet goat altar at OUR Michigan Capitol.”
And then he went even further.
During an interview on the podcast “Your Defending Fathers,” Schriver said he planned to introduce a bill that would revoke the non-profit status of groups like The Satanic Temple… or, rather, the Church of Satan (which had nothing to do with this display):
“I actually am working on a policy right now—I haven’t introduced it yet—but it’s actually to really focus on making a distinction between the church—the church of Jesus Christ—and this, quote unquote, Church of Satan,” Schriver announced. “You really have an issue where they’re seen as equal in the eyes of the state, and that doesn’t seem right to me for many, many legitimate reasons. And so removing tax exempt status from non-theistic churches such as the Church of Satan, I think is very, very well in order.”
“There’s many examples of us looking at our First Amendment and how it doesn’t really protect against obscenity,” Schriver continued, revealing that he is also “working on another policy to make pornographic images illegal” because “there’s no need for a moral and religious people to indulge in certain things.”
“We have a duty to lead people as representatives who are appointed by God to make sure that we have a state that is not just good, not just great, but godly,” Schriver declared. “Honestly, I work for God and not for man. And so at the end of the day, I answer to one person, and that’s Jesus Christ.”
As far as I can tell, he never introduced that bill. He was all talk.
Even though his party wasn’t in the majority at the time, instead of working on bills to help his constituents, Schriver played up a culture war issue knowing it wouldn’t go anywhere… which meant the illegality of it all would never come up for discussion.
For what it’s worth, a plain reading of the Constitution and several decades of case law involving church and state make no distinction between different religions or religion vs. non-religion. Freedom of thought is protected under the law, and the only way to revoke The Satanic Temple’s 501(c)(3) designation would be to strip churches of them too. Elected officials don’t get to decide which religions “count” and which ones don’t. And if his goal was to eliminate government promotion of evil, then he was aiming in the wrong direction. The Satanists’ Seven Fundamental Tenets are far more ethical than anything you’d find promoted in white evangelical churches.
When The Detroit News asked Schriver on Monday why he wanted to ban gay marriage, he didn’t offer any actual reasons. He just threw out some Bible verses as if that was justification enough:
"Jesus defines marriage as between a man and a woman," Schriver wrote, while citing verses in the book of Matthew.
Why that’s supposed to matter is anyone’s guess. This is what we can expect from Republican officials, though. They want to establish a theocracy using the tools of democracy.
And that whole controversy was one of the milder ones involving Schriver.
As Right Wing Watch pointed out at the time, there was reason to believe he’s a follower of white nationalist Nick Fuentes.
In February, he was stripped of all committee posts, lost his staff, and had his office budget taken away due to his “racist, hateful, and bigoted” posts. (Do you know how racist you have to be for Republicans to think you’re too racist?!) It’s not clear if those punishments will carry over into the new legislative session that begins in 2025.
But Schriver’s party is now in the majority in the State House. That means his desires could actually be passed by his hateful colleagues even if they don’t stand a chance of becoming law.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is in a same-sex marriage herself, responded to Schriver’s bigotry by pointing out the obvious: He just wants to hurt who he hates.
She failed to note, though, how his Christian faith is at the root of his bigotry. Schriver’s religion taught him to be selfish and cruel, so this is the kind of bullshit he wastes his time on. It’s not like he has any desire to make life better for his constituents.
If Schriver wants to work for God, there are plenty of churches in Michigan. Instead, he ran for a job meant to represent the people—those of all faiths and no faith—and he’s now using it to advance his faith and all the harm that comes with it.
(Portions of this article were published earlier)
Dear Dana Nessel,
You asked me how dissolving your marriage and that of hundreds of thousands of Americans will help Michiganders. Well, I can give you an example, mind you, it is a hypothetical example. And in no way resembles anyone that I know. But just imagine an up and coming lawmaker, say a state representative. And this law maker has a wife and and some kids. Sure the wife is pretty-looking, I supposed, and this dashing state representative tries to love her. But she just drones on and on, and the more she talks the more he begins to resent her. It's just nonstop, and the more she goes, the less and less this handsome state representative, who is well-like and incredibly intelligent, begins become physically repulsed by her. And then that turns into a disinterest to women in general. Oh sure he tries to spark his interest by banging a few doe-eyed interns. But nothing can scratch his itch. And then Stephen happens. The tall strapping beautiful man walks into this amazingly popular state representative's life. Stephen is a Viking god made man. And the well-liked and charming state representative falls madly in love with Stephen. And because the state representative is so amazing, so interesting and just so damned hot, Stephen falls in love with him too. And it is amazing. It is hot. But then Stephen asks the the cool state representative, who is just hypothetical, l need I remind you, to marry him. He says "Divorce your wife. You don't love her, Josh (That is the name of the fictional state representative). You and I can just run away together to Hawaii or some tropical beach." And Stephen is right. The ugly and obnoxious wife and the snot-nosed kids are just millstones around his neck. And they are drowning him. That state representative can't even breathe. He feels everyday, he is getting buried deeper and deeper into a pit. And Stephen, glorious Stephen, is this shining ladder of happiness. All he has to do is grab it and climb. But then the state representative, realizes that as soon as he grabs that ladder, he'll lose his power. His seat in the Michigan house will be lost. Probably taken by some disgusting woman. He can't have that, but the temptation is too great. And Stephen wants to get married. But if we remove the option to get married, then the temptation is gone. Stephen will have to back off, and we, I meant the state representative and Stephen can go back to the way it was. Meeting in closets after work. Hotel rooms on business trips. See, getting rid of Gay marriage can help Michiganders.
Sincerely
State Representative Josh Shriver.
"work for God" The MAGA cult is amazing, reminiscent of late 1930s and early 1940s Germany. The next four years in the USA is going to be a roller coaster ride with long term ramifications.
Hang on!
In God We Trust?