Campaign Seeks Apology to Rep. Lisa Brown

A national progressive group is circulating a petition demanding an apology from Michigan House Republicans for banning Rep. Lisa Brown from speaking on the House floor last week.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee claims that since beginning Monday, it has collected over 48,000 signatures asking that Republican House Speaker Jase Bolger and Majority Floor Leader Jim Stamas apologize to Brown, a Democrat from West Bloomfield, and Barb Byrum, an Onondaga Democrat.

The committee also demands that the two publicly acknowledge that the speaking rights for the two have been restored. It claims it will run online advertisements in Michigan "shaming the two" Republicans.

Brown, a Jewish mother of three, was barred from speaking after she claimed House Bill 5711 forces contradictory religious beliefs upon her and others, referencing her own vagina at the end of her speech.

The remark went viral amid concerns that the House GOP majority went too far in banning Brown for using what she referred to as the "medically correct term."