The Michigan Supreme Court has ruled against giving
domestic partnership benefits for homosexual couples working in state
university and government agencies. In a 5-2 ruling this past week,
state Supreme Court justices overruled a decision by a lower appeals
court to give same-sex couples health benefits, citing the passage of
the state’s 2004 Marriage Protection Amendment as the basis
of its decision.
"We conclude that the marriage amendment which states that 'the union
of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement
recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose,' prohibits
public employers from providing health-insurance benefits to their
employees' qualified same-sex domestic partners,” the court wrote
in its ruling.
In 2004, a majority of voters in Michigan and over a dozen other states
were prompted to pass a marriage amendment after the State Supreme
Court in Massachusetts ruled in favor of gay “marriage.”
While the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan decried the
latest ruling as "flawed and unfortunate," pro-family groups were
ecstatic.
“The people of Michigan have constitutionally protected marriage
as exclusively the union of one man and one woman, period, and that
includes prohibiting the recognition of homosexual relationships as
equal or similar to marriage for any purpose, including offering
spousal-type benefits to the homosexual partners of government
employees,” explained Gary Glenn of the American Family
Association of Michigan, according to Catholic News Agency.
Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law
Center, said that the ruling in Michigan was a victory for the sanctity
of marriage everywhere.
“This ruling not only affirms the lower court ruling, but affirms
the institution of marriage. In effect, it strengthens the institution
and will preserve it for generations to come,” he told
LifeSiteNews.com.
Since 2004, when the Massachusetts State Supreme Court made its ruling
to recognize gay “marriage,” 26 states have passed a
constitutional ban on the practice, while over a dozen others have
passed laws limiting or outlawing it.
Christian Post
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