Gary Charles Peters (born December 1, 1958) is an American lawyer, politician, and former military officer serving as the senior United States senator from Michigan.

Before his election to Congress, Peters served in the United States Navy Reserve, spent 22 years as an investment advisor, and worked briefly in academia.

He was then appointed commissioner of the Michigan Lottery by Governor Jennifer Granholm, serving from 2003 to 2008, when he resigned to successfully run for Congress.

In 2014, Peters was elected to the United States Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democratic incumbent Carl Levin.

[9] His father, Herbert Garrett Peters, was a public school teacher who served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

[10] His mother, Madeleine Vignier, who met his father in France during the war,[10] was a nurse's aide and helped unionize her workplace.

[11] After high school, Peters attended Alma College, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

[15] He served more than ten years in units at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, including Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 26.

[15] During his Navy service, Peters earned the Seabee Combat Warfare Specialist designation and carried out assignments as an assistant supply officer.

[15] Peters's reserve duty included time in the Persian Gulf supporting Operation Southern Watch; he served overseas again during increased military activity following the September 11 attacks.

[22] Some student and faculty members protested Peters's hiring, saying he could not be objective in the classroom while running for office and that the university job was subsidizing his campaign.

[22][23] Peters also has taught finance at Wayne State and strategic management and business policy courses at Oakland University.

[25][26] After a failed attempt in 1990, Peters was elected to the Michigan Senate to represent the Oakland County-based 14th district in November 1994.

[28] Peters served as the vice chairman of the Senate Finance, Education, Judiciary and Economic Development Committees.

[32][33][34] On August 7, 2007, Peters ended months of speculation by formally announcing he would run against eight-term Republican congressman Joe Knollenberg in the 9th district, which included almost all of Oakland County.

[46] House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said Peters was the "single most effective person" in fighting the forces that wanted to let Detroit go bankrupt.

[47] In Congress, Peters opposed a plan to provide disaster relief aid, the funds for which would have come from the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program.

"[51] Peters was one of 118 House Democrats who signed a letter to President Obama in 2011 urging him to support the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a multinational organization that provides health services to women, children, and families in more than 150 countries.

[52] In 2014, he opposed a Michigan law that prohibits insurers from offering abortion coverage as a standard feature in health plans.

[55] Levin and Senator Debbie Stabenow endorsed Peters, and his entrance largely cleared the field of potential Democratic challengers.

[56] Peters's largest independent supporter was the Senate Majority PAC, which spent almost $3.2 million for ads attacking the Republican nominee, Terri Lynn Land.

Less than a month before the election, Peters became the first sitting U.S. senator ever to publicly reveal a personal family experience with abortion.

In the late 1980s, his first wife had a wanted pregnancy that failed at four months, but her miscarriage did not proceed naturally, causing a health emergency.

The CFIUS's scope would be expanded to allow it to review and decline smaller investments and consider additional national security factors, including whether information about Americans would be exposed as part of transactions and whether a deal would facilitate fraud.

Exceptions to the bill's background check requirement included transfers between members of law enforcement, loaning firearms for hunting or sporting events on a temporary basis, providing them as gifts to members of one's immediate family, transferring them as part of an inheritance, or giving one to another person temporarily for immediate self-defense.

[85] He has opposed attempts to repeal the law, and supported a Medicare public option to expand health care access.

[91] His ancestor William Garrett served in the Virginia Militia in the Revolutionary War alongside George Washington at Valley Forge during the harsh winter of 1777 to 1778.