Laurie Pohutsky

Michigan House of Representatives, District 17

Laurie was the first out bisexual legislator elected in the state of Michigan!

Biography

Laurie Pohutsky is a former microbiologist running for re-election to Michigan’s House of Representatives. She is the first openly queer female legislator in Michigan’s history and the first openly queer legislator to serve as the Speaker Pro Tempore. She sponsored a bill to include protections for the LGBTQ+ community in the state’s civil rights act, ban the use of the LGBTQ+ panic defense, and remove barriers to legal name changes. Her bills to repeal Michigan’s criminal abortion ban and remove politically motivated barriers to abortion access were signed into law in 2023.