Welcome to Red Wine & Blue Michigan,

Gun Violence has devastated Michigan communities in the past few years, from the tragic mass shootings at Oxford High School, Michigan State University and Rochester Hills to community violence, suicides and domestic violence. Survivors and community members are left wondering what we can do to put an end to this cycle of violence.

In 2023, our voices were heard and the Michigan legislature passed four bill packages to address gun violence. These include:

• Extreme risk protection orders aka “Red Flag Laws,” preventing sales of all firearms to people who have been reported to law enforcement as dangerous to themselves or others.
• Secure storage laws that hold gun owners accountable for the safe storage of firearms in their homes.
• Background checks on all gun sales, including sales at gun shows and other private sales.
• Ban on anyone convicted of domestic violence from purchasing or possessing a firearm for 8 years.

Red Wine and Blue is especially proud of our involvement in getting the domestic violence bill package passed. Some of our members shared their deeply personal stories of domestic violence to persuade lawmakers to take action. And when it looked like we might not have enough votes to cross the finish line, Red Wine & Blue’s “Troublemakers” made calls, showed up to legislative coffee hours across the state and traveled to Lansing for rallies and lobby days to let elected officials know exactly how we felt.

After the rush of legislation in 2023, progress came to a stop as the Democratic majority in the state legislature lost seats. This is why it’s so important that we grow our Democratic leadership at the state house in 2024. As a part of the End Gun Violence Michigan Coalition, we will continue to educate women about upcoming legislation and ways that they can make a difference to end gun violence in their communities, including supporting candidates who support gun violence prevention.

In 2022 Michigan had the honor of being one of the first states to protect abortion access and reproductive freedom in their state constitution through a ballot measure, known as Prop 3. Michigan Troublemakers worked tirelessly in 2022 to pass Prop 3 but there is still so much work left to do. We have been working across the state to increase access to reproductive healthcare, and to educate voters that our reproductive rights are STILL on the ballot in 2024. 

At the federal level, we have to keep fighting for reproductive freedom. All across the country, extremists are trying to limit our reproductive rights and take away our access to contraception. In fact, 195 Republicans in Congress voted against the Right to Contraception at the federal level. And all but two Republicans who voted in the Senate, just voted against birth control and against protecting IVF, despite the fact that the majority of Americans support access to birth control and IVF. Make no mistake, birth control is on the ballot this November, which is why we have our Save IVF and Birth Control campaign. They’re coming for our rights, so we’re coming for their jobs!

In the past year in Michigan, we’ve seen many attempts by right-wing extremists groups to attack public education in our state – Book bans, lawsuits, and campaigns to dismantle sex education programs and target LGBTQ+ youth are some of their favorite tactics. 

But we know that the majority of Michganders support public education and are not in support of these hateful tactics to divide our communities and cause chaos. In fact, in 2023 we helped pass every proposal on the ballot supporting schools and libraries in Kent, Macomb and Oakland counties. 

Red Wine and Blue makes it easy for women to learn about their local school board races and how public education is funded. You can download our Parent Playbook. We also provide training on how to make impactful public comments at your local school board meetings and how to start a local group to support your schools and teachers.

Join us at Red Wine & Blue as we work alongside many of our coalition partners in support of public education. We will continue showing up at school board meetings, pushing back on book bans, and promoting a safe and inclusive environment for all children in conjunction with our national Freedom to Parent campaign. 

Many Red Wine and Blue Troublemakers are themselves part of the LGBTQ+ community, or have a family member or friend that they love and care about who identifies as LGBTQ+. We are proud to be members of the Hate Won’t Win Coalition and to provide opportunities for our members to take action about LGBTQ+ issues in their communities and schools throughout the year.

In 2023, Troublemakers called legislators and attended lobby days in Lansing in support of expanding the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) to guarantee protection from discrimination in employment, housing, education and access to public accommodations for the LGBTQ+ community. Extending these protections was a major win for our coalition, but it wasn’t enough. Our Troublemakers also worked hard to ban conversion therapy in Michigan.

We don’t just work on legislative issues. Our volunteers also distributed hundreds of banned books that feature LGBTQ+ characters at Pride festivals across Michigan. It’s been an absolute joy to see children’s faces light up when they choose a book with characters that depict themselves and their families.

Throughout 2024 we will work to support candidates and campaigns that protect LGBTQ+ rights in our communities.