Marriage Win for Michigan!

There's a good chance you've heard the news by now, but shortly after 5:00pm today, Judge Friedman finally announced his decision in the challenge to the Michigan ban on same sex marriage and second parent adoption.

Not only did Judge Friedman overturn the ban, but his ruling involved a very harsh condemnation of Regnerus' study stating:

The Court finds Regnerus’s testimony entirely unbelievable and not worthy of serious consideration. The evidence adduced at trial demonstrated that his 2012 “study” was hastily concocted at the behest of a third-party funder, which found it “essential that the necessary data be gathered to settle the question in the forum of public debate about what kinds of family arrangement are best for society” and which “was confident that the traditional understanding of marriage will be vindicated by this study.”

Further, on the topic of Regnerus' study, the ruling states:

While Regnerus maintained that the funding source did not affect his impartiality as a researcher, the Court finds this testimony unbelievable. The funder clearly wanted a certain result, and Regnerus obliged.

Ouch. Harsh indeed. You can find the full text of the ruling HERE.

There are already some higher officials working to appeal the ruling. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette filed an emergency request for stay and appeal which would reverse the power of the ruling immediately. As of now, a stay has not been granted.

So what does this mean for Michigan couples? Essentially, marriage licenses can begin being issued right away. Most offices are closed until 8am Monday, but Washtenaw County has announced that they will be open to issue marriage licenses from 9a-1p tomorrow which is exciting news! There is also word that they will be waiving both the three day waiting period and the marriage license fee. 

Congratulations to April and Jayne. They have spoken up for countless others and made history.

Michigan does not always evoke a feeling of pride, but tonight I am very proud to know that another step has been made for equality in my state.