In 2022, suburban wins defeated extremist candidates and drove victories in Michigan, including passing Prop 3 to protect reproductive rights and flipping the state legislature. Now we have the chance to continue our great work in Michigan.

Next Steps to Stop Gun Violence in Michigan

We have a huge opportunity to protect families from gun violence and save lives in Michigan. We’re asking you to send a message to your State Representative and Senator today and make sure that we strengthen our laws to protect domestic violence survivors.

Red Wine & Blue Troublemakers played a major role in the passage of gun violence prevention laws earlier this year, including universal background checks, safe storage, and extreme risk protection orders. Along with our partners at End Gun Violence Michigan we called and emailed legislators, shared social media messages with friends and family, spoke to legislators, and even attended rallies and hearings in Lansing.

Senator Stephanie Chang introduced a package of bills to protect survivors of domestic violence from abusers with guns, SB 471 and SB 472. State Representative Amos O’Neal has introduced companion bills HB 4945 and HB 4946 in the House. These bills would change Michigan law so that ALL those convicted of domestic violence — felony or misdemeanor — are prohibited from having firearms for 8 years after their sentence.

Send a message to your State Representative and Senator today in support of these bills so we can protect families and save lives.

Did you know?

  • 35% of women in Michigan who are killed by a gun are killed by an intimate partner (source: Michigan Violent Death Reporting System) 
  • 68% of mass shootings are domestic violence-related, often men killing their families. (source: The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence)
  • Domestic violence escalates. Abusers often retaliate when a survivor finally gets the courage to leave, seek a restraining order, or report their abuse to the police. In these situations, if an abuser owns a gun, domestic violence becomes five times deadlier. (source: The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence)
  • Michigan does prevent those convicted of felony domestic violence from possessing guns, but not misdemeanor domestic violence. We know that the vast majority of domestic violence is charged as or pled down to a misdemeanor. That’s why we need to expand our laws to include all domestic violence convictions
  • 31 other states prevent all those convicted of domestic violence from possessing guns for a number of years.
  • This change would also bring Michigan into line with federal law. This is necessary because local police enforce domestic violence and gun laws, not the federal government.

 

Next Steps for Reproductive Health Access

In 2023, Red Wine and Blue volunteers gathered thousands of signatures across the state and talked to our friends, families and neighbors about the importance of voting for Michigan’s Reproductive Freedom for All Proposal 3, which protects our abortion rights in our state constitution. 

Now, we are asking you to send a message to your state Representative and Senator today to remove medically unnecessary barriers to pregnancy-related health care.

A new package of bills, the Reproductive Healthcare Act, was introduced in September 2023. This package of bills will repeal many medically unnecessary state laws that create barriers to pregnancy-related healthcare, including abortion. Some of the laws the bills will repeal include:

  • Preventing criminal punishment for miscarriages and stillbirths
  • Removing medically unnecessary rules that shut down clinics
  • Allowing private insurance companies to include coverage for all pregnancy-related health care, including abortion
  • Allowing advanced practice clinicians who are properly trained to provide abortion care
  • Repealing laws that force patients seeking abortion care to delay their care and receive biased, medically inaccurate information
  • Allowing Medicaid to cover all pregnancy-related health care, including abortion

Send a message to your State Representative and Senator today in support of the Reproductive Healthcare Act so we can ensure that women have access to the pregnancy-related healthcare services they need.

What do Michiganders think?

  • In November 2022, 56.65% of Michiganders voted for Proposal 3, protecting abortion rights in our state constitution.
  • In a May 2023 poll, 55% of women ages 18-49 say they or someone they know has made a decision due to worries about accessing abortion.
  • In the same poll, 65% of adults are concerned bans on abortion would make it difficult for doctors to safely treat patients, leading to complications.
  • In an August 2023 poll specifically conducted in electorally competitive legislative districts (Senate districts 11, 12, 35 and House districts 27, 31, 38, 44, 58, 61, 83, 84, 103, and 109):
    • 71% of Michiganders support preventing criminal punishment for miscarriages and stillbirths.
    • 68% of Michiganders say abortion is a decision that should be left to a woman and her doctor.
    • 61% of Michiganders support removing medically unnecessary rules that shut down clinics.
    • 61% of Michiganders support allowing private insurance companies to include coverage for all pregnancy-related health care, including abortion.
    • 58% of Michiganders support allowing advanced practice clinicians who are properly trained to provide abortion care.
    • 54% of Michiganders support allowing Medicaid to cover all pregnancy-related health care, including abortion.
    • 53% of Michiganders support repealing laws that force patients seeking abortion care to delay their care and receive biased, medically inaccurate information.

Red Wine and Blue Michigan Group