THREAD: It's been a very busy week in Michigan politics.

Here's what you may have missed in the madness:
-Historic LGBTQ+ protections pass
-Big Senate race update
-Gun safety bills advance
-Threats to Jewish lawmakers
-Abortion bills see movement

Stories/details below. The Senate passed a bill that's been in the works for four decades, amending the state's civil rights act to protect the LGBTQ+ community. Under current MI law, LGBTQ+ residents who face discrimination have nowhere to report it.

It's off to the House now.
wwmt.com/news/local/lgb…

“You’re decades late. You’re thousands of lives late… Don’t make another person pay for your mistakes with their lives.”

The sister of Hana St. Juliana, who was murdered at Oxford, is speaking in front of a MI Senate committee hearing on bills that would address gun violence. Steve St. Juliana is with daughter Reina, overcome with emotion during his testimony. He called for change after his daughter was murdered, and the MSU shooting has happened since.

“I’m getting angry… it’s not a matter of if [gun violence impacts you], it’s a matter of when.”

In Detroit, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist are speaking for the first time since being declared winners of the governor race. In this second term, they’ll be leading a blue Michigan for the first time since the 1980s. Whitmer begins by thanking her family, husband, supporters, and LG Gilchrist.

“Tough times call for tough people,” she says. “And if there’s one thing that Michiganders are, it’s tough.”

🧵Former President Barack Obama is in Detroit today to rally ahead of the Nov. 8 election. This visit is part of his first nationwide tour stumping for Democrats in key races.

Expect to see @GovWhitmer @LtGovGilchrist @dananessel @RashidaTlaib @MayorMikeDuggan and other top Dems @GovWhitmer @LtGovGilchrist @dananessel @RashidaTlaib @MayorMikeDuggan @midmichigannow @upnorthlive @WSBT Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan spoke first, addressing the news (broken by @DNBethLeBlanc, @CraigDMauger) that GOP Sec. of State candidate Kristina Karamo filed a lawsuit questioning the votes of tens of thousands of Detroit residents. He mispronounces her name.

Former Michigan elections director Chris Thomas is holding a virtual briefing right now on Prop 2, the plan that would introduce broad changes to the state's voting and elections system. He begins by saying nothing in the proposal isn't already being implemented in other states. Thomas, who has 40 years experience in elections, says he's seen misinformation/fear tactics spread about the prop.

Opponents say it would make the state's elections less secure; proponents say the opposite.

Here's our explainer on what Prop 2 would do:
wwmt.com/news/election/…

The MI Senate is suspending rules to immediately consider a resolution from Majority Leader Mike Shirkey to condemn the teacher training videos from the Michigan Department of Education that shows trainers discussing gender/sexuality in schools.
Background:bridgemi.com/talent-educati… Shirkey says this comes down to parent rights. A clip from the video shows a trainer talking about when to bring issues of sexuality/gender to parents, even in cases where the student is suicidal. The trainer suggests teachers can address suicide w/o bringing up sexuality/gender.

BREAKING: Abortion will continue to remain legal in Michigan for now, an Oakland Co. Circuit Court judge has ruled.

Judge Jacob Cunningham noted in his ruling that the state's abortion ban was crafted almost exclusively by male lawmakers in 1931. Cunningham didn't mince words, saying he finds the 1931 law "dangerous and chilling to our state's population of child-bearing people and the medical professionals who care for them."

The ban is one of the most extreme in the nation, with an exception only for the mother's life.