LANSING, MI — Gay couples and straight supporters rallied outside the Michigan Capitol on Monday night, hours before a challenge to the state's same-sex marriage ban goes before the nation's highest court.
"We're going to make history before the Supreme Court tomorrow," said Bill Green, interim director of Equality Michigan. "We're going to win our civil rights, and when we do, we're going to make Michigan a better state, and we're going to make America a better country."
The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on Tuesday in consolidated same-sex marriage cases originating from Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. A ruling is not expected until June or July.
Attorneys will argue whether the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires a state to license same-sex marriages or recognize those performed in other states where it is legal.
Michigan voters in 2004 approved an amendment to the state constitution that effectively banned gay marriage, but state and national polls have shown a significant swing in public opinion over the past decade. Same-sex marriage is now legal in 37 states.
"Across America, people are learning what we've known for a long time," said Green. "Love is love. Love is where you find it. Love is whomever you find it with. Not one politician can tell us what love is, and definitely not our government."
Roughly 100 to 150 supporters attended the rally, organized by Michigan for Marriage, including faith leaders, state Rep. Andy Schor, state Sen. Curtis Hertel and Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum, who opened her doors on a Saturday to marry same-sex couples during a brief window of legality last year.
Cole Bouck and Marcus Aw of Lansing also attended the rally, which ended with a candle light vigil. They are not married but would like to have the option.
"The day will come, perhaps," said Bouck. "I can remember a time when people would laugh if I'd even suggest it. I remember my mother and I talking about it 30 years ago thinking it will never happen, but now we're on the verge of that."
Many pundits, citing the court's decision in a 2013 Defense of Marriage case and lower-court rulings, believe the Supreme Court is poised to legalize same-sex marriage across the country, but that outcome is not a foregone conclusion.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, whose office is defending the state constitution in federal court, has framed the case as a states' rights and voters' rights issue.
"This case is not about the best definition of marriage or any stereotypes about families," the AG's Office said in a legal brief. "Families come in all types, and parents of all types — married or single, gay or straight — love their children.
"This case is about whether the 14th Amendment imposes a single marriage view on all states such that the people have no right to decide. It does not."
The Michigan case, filed on behalf of April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse of Highland Park, began as an attempt to win joint custody of their adopted special needs children.
U.S. District Court Judge Bernard Friedman stuck down Michigan's ban in March of 2014, but the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeal reversed that decision in November.
"I have faith that when the Supreme Court Justices consider the legal precedent of the cases before them, they will be faced with only one conclusion," said Regina Calcagno of Michigan for Marriage. "Love must win."
Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.
No comments:
Post a Comment