Michigan won’t see any immediate effects from Wednesday’s Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage.
But as The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Jake Neher reports, they could provide some momentum for groups trying to overturn the state’s gay marriage ban.
A federal judge says he’ll rule soon on a case dealing with same-sex adoptions in Michigan. But the decision could extend beyond adoption rights and address the state’s voter-approved ban on gay marriage. The judge said he wanted to wait until after the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act to decide the case.
Attorney Carole Stanyar is asking the court to extend joint adoption and marriage rights to same-sex couples in Michigan. She says the majority opinion on DOMA is a boost to their case.
“The same analysis that Justice Kennedy used in DOMA is what we have been using right along,” she says.
Gay rights activists in Michigan are also gearing up for a 2016 ballot campaign to overturn the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.