Eight Michigan Democrats Defect To Pass Anti-Trans Resolution

It appears to be one of the largest schisms on LGBTQ policy that the Michigan Democrats have seen in recent years.

House TV // Public Domain

Eight state Democrats in Michigan capitulated to President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting trans kids in sports, voting on March 12 in favor of HR 40, a resolution that calls upon the Michigan High School Athletic Association to discriminate against trans people.

The document is not binding; it does not force the MHSAA to act. Even if these Democrats did sincerely believe in the unscientific basis of Trump’s E.O. and debunked claims about “dangerous” trans athletes, the law would not serve to materially impact any perceived injustices. All HR 40 does is amplify hateful narratives about trans people.

Source: https://www.michiganvotes.org/votes/2025/house/roll-call-25

The state Senate’s Majority Leader, Democrat Winnie Brinks, vowed not to go down the same path. “We will not be attacking kids,” Brinks said in a statement, as per the Detroit Free Press. “We will not be taking this up.”

Nevertheless, this defection from the Democrat’s supposed party line on trans rights appears to be the largest seen in any state, in terms of sheer numbers, since sixteen blue lawmakers either voted in favor of, or were absent for, a vote determining the fate of transphobic segregation policies in New Hampshire.

The Democratic legislators who voted in favor of the resolution include Rep. Alabas Farhat, Rep. Peter Herzberg, Rep. Tullio Liberati, Rep. Denise Mentzer, Rep. Reggie Miller, Rep. Will Snyder, Rep. Angela Witwer, and Rep. Mai Xiong.

In the last election, Farhat and Snyder each secured an over 20 percentage point lead over their respective Republican opponents — meaning even those in “safe” blue districts have shown an inclination towards anti-trans rhetoric and policy.

“My assessment of yesterday’s vote is that we have a number of Democrats who were concerned that voting 'no' on the resolution would hurt their own chance of reelection and hinder their community from supporting them. And there were some folks that are in very safe seats that also voted 'yes' on the resolution," said Rep. Emily Dievendorf, the state’s only trans or nonbinary representative, in an interview with the Detroit Free Press. "I think that there is a lack of understanding around how much our communities support [trans] rights. There is no evidence to support the assumption that we would lose the support of our […] constituencies if we stood up for trans and nonbinary folks.”

The HR 40 vote came after a hectic, hurried hearing process which devolved into yelling; the minority floor leader questioned whether the Speaker Pro Tempore was showing partisan bias after both Democratic lawmakers who approached the podium — including Dievendorf — were cut off for not being “germane.” The Speaker said she wasn’t biased, and then a rushed vote ensued. Erin in the Morning obtained a copy of Dievendorf’s full speech, uncensored and attached below.

Republican Rep. Jason Woolfhard decried trans girls as “males that want to beat up on girls and our women.”

“We have to protect our girls,” he said, such as “Patty McNabb,” a female volleyball player who was reportedly concussed while competing against a team with a trans student. (The athlete’s name is Payton, not Patty.)

Millions of traumatic brain injuries, such as concussions, occur in sports every year. According to existing literature, women’s volleyball has “the highest [concussion rate] amongst limited-contact sports including softball, swimming/diving, and baseball. It is even higher in rate than men’s basketball, which is categorized as a high-contact sport. Concussions were the second most common specific diagnosis in NCAA women’s volleyball from 2014 to 2019.”

At the federal level, Democrats voted unanimously against an anti-trans sports policy earlier this month.

You can watch the full debate on the resolution here: