A lesbian couple have been encouraged by a federal judge to challenge the Michigan constitution on the grounds that homosexual "marriage" is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. In 2004, the citizens of Michigan voted to amend their constitution to define marriage as one man and one woman.
Citizens of dozens of states have passed one-man-one-woman marriage amendments to their state constitutions explicitly to preclude judges from changing the definition of marriage. If federal judges rule against a marriage amendment of even one state, then only an amendment to the U.S. Constitution would allow any state to maintain traditional marriage.
For background, read There's No Right to Same-sex 'Marriage' Says Supreme Court Justice Scalia and also read ACLU Loses: Montana Marriage Amendment Holds in Court as well as Homosexual 'Marriage' Not Enough; Next Goal
-- From "Gay Hazel Park couple sues to unite their family" by Tammy Stables Battaglia, Detroit Free Press Staff Writer 9/8/12
[April] DeBoer and partner Jayne Rowse decided to take their battle in U.S. District Court in Detroit one step further Friday. They amended their complaint in front of Judge Bernard A. Friedman that asks for the right to adopt as a same-sex couple. Instead, they are challenging Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, Attorney General Bill Schuette and Oakland County Clerk Bill Bullard Jr. to declare Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage and partnerships unconstitutional.
Their lawyer Dana Nessel said . . . "We are the Mississippi of the gay civil-rights era here in Michigan."
Friedman has agreed to hold off on decisions on the women's first case until the state officials have time to respond to the newest evolution of the case, Stanyar said. The case could take years as it winds its way through the court system, possibly through the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court, she said.
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From "Lesbian couple challenges Michigan's marriage law" by Christine Ferretti, The Detroit News 9/8/12
DeBoer and Rowse decided to amend their suit last week after U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman called the marriage amendment the "underlying issue" during a motion hearing in which the state sought to have the second-parent adoption case tossed out.
DeBoer and Rowse argue the state's marriage amendment violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the U.S. Constitution.
Kary L. Moss, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, said in a statement that the group agrees with the challenge to the marriage amendment, which, the ACLU contends, violates the U.S. Constitution and harms families.
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Also read 'Gay Marriage' Enables Polygamy Court Challenge
