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Ian DeAngelis, 20, of Milan and Nick Pattison, 32, of Milan embrace after getting married at the Washtenaw County Clerk's office in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Saturday, March 22, 2014

ACLU To Launch Legal Challenges If State Fails To Recognize Same-Sex Marriages

Kathleen Gray 

March 25, 2014

LANSING — The ACLU is preparing to launch legal challenges if the state doesn’t recognize the validity of the nearly 300 marriages of same sex couples performed on Saturday.

The challenges could come if the state refuses to grant benefits to a spouse in a same sex marriage, block adoptions by those couples or file state income tax forms jointly, said Jay Kaplan, an attorney for the ACLU of Michigan.

“There are more than 1,400 state laws dealing with a legal civil marriage,” he said. “And if the state maintains that these marriages are not legally valid, we have a problem with that and we’ll explore a legal challenge against the state.”

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to decide Wednesday on whether to lift or extend a stay on a ruling by U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman last week that said Michigan’s ban on same sex marriages is unconstitutional.

Before the Appeals Court issued the stay on Saturday afternoon, 321 same sex couples received marriage licenses and at least 299 couples were married. The stay leaves those couples in a sort of limbo, waiting to see if their vows are legally recognized.

A group of same sex marriage supporters gathered at the state Capitol Tuesday to share their joy over Friedman’s ruling and dismay that Attorney General Bill Schuette continues his fight to uphold the ban on same sex marriage that voters approved by a 59-41% margin in 2004.

“I truly don’t understand the rabid resistance from some people,” said Glenna DeJong, who with Marsha Caspar, were the first same sex couple to get married in Michigan on Saturday. “I do know we’ll be on the right side of history. We need everyone to be and stay engaged in this fight because after 27 years, I’m done waiting.”

The group, which included several lawmakers and Equality Michigan, which advocates for the LGBT community and issues, gathered more than 14,500 signatures on a petition calling on Gov. Rick Snyder and Schuette to drop the state’s appeal of Friedman’s ruling. They dropped the signatures at Schuette’s office Tuesday afternoon.

“We’re asking Gov. Snyder to abide by the judicial ruling and order your Attorney General to stand down. There should be no more wasting our taxpayer dollars and making phony cases about what families should look like with baloney science,” said state Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing. “We need to permit equal rights for everyone and acknowledge these beautiful unions that happened this weekend.”

Schuette, during the Lansing stop on his re-election campaign announcement tour around the state, said he’s merely upholding his duty to defend the state’s Constitution.

“The final decision will be made by the U.S. Supreme Court,” he said. “If the citizens of the state want to change the Constitution, they can, that’s their right. If U.S. Supreme Court rules a different way, I will honor that.”

He said he won’t quibble with the four county clerks — from Muskegon, Ingham, Oakland and Washtenaw — who took the unusual step to open on Saturday to issue marriage licenses and perform nuptial ceremonies for couples.

“The courts will sort all that out,” Schuette said.

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As usual, hate is hiding behind the "I'm just doing my job" excuse here in Michigan.  The governor and the attorney general could have made the same decision that others have and refused to defend this discrimination.  But instead, they've chosen to pander to their political base in an election year. They're on the wrong side of history and they know it, they just don't care.  It's not about what's right and it's not about children, it's about getting themselves re-elected.  My husband and I plan to volunteer as potential plaintiffs in the ACLU's case.

Justice delayed is justice denied...

"Fear Eats the Soul"