What’s going on in Michigan?
William Lawrence once had a simple answer to the gay-marriage debate: abolish marriage altogether.
The Democratic nominee challenging Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District made the comment during a 2012 debate at Swarthmore College, according to video highlighted by the Washington Free Beacon.
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Lawrence won the Democratic primary in August and now faces Barrett in November.
Asked about legalizing gay marriage, Lawrence replied: “For gay marriage, against all marriage.”
He argued that because civil marriage carries tax benefits and comes from what he described as a particular religious and cultural tradition, government recognition of marriage conflicts with the separation of church and state.
“So if we’re talking about the separation of church and state, we should be abolishing the institution of marriage altogether,” Lawrence said.
The remarks came while Lawrence was a student at Swarthmore, years before his current congressional run.
His campaign told the Free Beacon that Lawrence has now been happily married for more than four years and said his present focus is the cost of living and corporate power.
Lawrence is running in Michigan’s 7th District, currently represented by Barrett.
Watch the clip below:
EXCLUSIVE:
The Democratic nominee for Michigan’s competitive Seventh Congressional District, former Democratic Socialists of America member William Lawrence, called for “abolishing the institution of marriage” because it “comes from a particular religious and cultural… pic.twitter.com/gLhihrz6nA
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) September 17, 2026
More over at The Free Beacon:
READ MORE: https://t.co/ExhnV08idW
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) September 17, 2026
