Michigan Gay Marriage Ban Challenge Gets February Trial
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A challenge to Michigan’s same-sex marriage ban, brought by a lesbian couple seeking to adopt each other’s children, can only be decided after a trial, a federal judge ruled.
U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman declined to rule on the basis of preliminary arguments today whether the ban violates the constitutional rights of gay couples. Friedman, who set a nonjury trial for Feb. 25, in July called the challengers’ claims plausible in the wake of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling. He said he also wants to determine if there is a legitimate state interest in maintaining the gay marriage ban.