After an election where Republicans lost the state handily but still will keep a slight majority next term, the outgoing state legislature is in the process of passing a series of laws so comically right-wing that you’d think they were made up by liberals trying to make Republicans look silly.
This “inflamed duck” session, as Chris Savage of Michigan’s Eclectablog calls it, will go down in history as one of the best examples of sore-loserdom in electoral history.
Here’s a look at some of the wackiest, most offensive legislation that the Koch Brothers and Amway founder Rich DeVos can buy.
Photo credit: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio
Guns In The Big House
If you try to take a sandwich into Michigan Stadium, it’ll probably be tossed into the trash. But if a bill that was just passed out of committee by the Republican House goes into law, people with concealed-weapon licenses and extra training will be able to pack heat when they go to a game, visit a school campus or attend church.
Photo credit: Andrew Horne
M-M-M-My Sharia
Unlike Oklahoma, where Sharia law-fear is rampant and the Muslim community is tiny, Michigan has a very healthy and vibrant Muslim community. But Michigan’s Republicans don’t want them to get any ideas from Glenn Beck’s fantasies about a worldwide Caliphate, so they’re considering a law that would ban “foreign laws that would impair Constitutional rights.” They don’t mention Sharia specifically but wink, wink… As I always say, if you oppose Sharia law, then show it by supporting gay marriage, abortion on demand and legal marijuana.
Photo credit: Newton’s graffiti via Flick.com
We’re Here To Judge
Michigan Republicans famously silenced Rep. Lisa Brown (D-MI) when she used the word “vagina” while discussing an abortion bill earlier this year. Now, they’re getting payback by passing bills that allow medical professionals to decide which treatments are immoral and make it nearly impossible to run a clinic that offers safe abortions.
Photo credit: AP Photo/Detroit News, Dale G. Young
More Emergencies
Michigan voters just rejected a law that gave unelected bureaucrats the power to void and renegotiate contracts in troubled localities. So Michigan’s Republicans just passed a bill that’s as bad or worse as the one voters rejected. Good times.
Photo credit: AP Photo/Paul Sancta
Cut And Paste Corporatocracy
In their rush to pass legislation that would slash at union power in a state that has long been considered a bastion for organized labor, Republicans skipped public input and used language that came just about exactly from a model bill written by American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an organization funded by Charles and David Koch that has been spreading corporate-friendly legislation across the country. The only problem is that every state Constitution isn’t the same. Now Republicans may have passed a bill that won’t affect public sector workers, as they planned it to. A tiny reminder that a tornado of bad legislation can’t be aimed precisely.
Photo credit: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio
