KALAMAZOO, Mich. - An attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund has written a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the Michigan Family Forum to defend the voters of Michigan against the ACLU's latest attempt to undermine marriage. An ADF-allied attorney filed the brief Thursday with the Michigan Court of Appeals.
The brief defends the state's constitutional amendment protecting marriage as a union between a man and a woman and the benefits secured therein. The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of a group of state employees demanding marriage benefits for "domestic partnerships," including same-sex couples.
"All government programs should comply with state law," said ADF attorney Dale Schowengerdt, who authored the brief. "Michigan law expressly prohibits marriage substitutes. There are other ways these individuals can get benefits and still comply with state law, without basing them on a marriage-like status."
In November 2004 the citizens of Michigan voted to amend the state constitution to protect marriage. The amendment read, "To secure and preserve the benefits of marriage for our society and for future generations of children, 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" (
www.domawatch.com/stateissues/michigan/index.html).
"The people of Michigan have made their will clear by passing a constitutional amendment to protect marriage," said Schowengerdt. "The marriage amendment states clearly what marriage is and what it is not. The ACLU's demands are in violation of the state constitution."
A copy of the friend-of-the-court brief filed by ADF-allied attorney James Wierenga in the case
National Pride at Work v. Granholm can be read at
www.telladf.org/UserDocs/Granholm_amicus.pdf.
For more information on the battle to protect marriage, visit
www.domawatch.org.
ADF is a legal alliance defending America's first liberty--religious freedom--through strategy, training, funding, and litigation. ADF President Alan Sears is co-author with Craig Osten of the new book
The ACLU vs. America (
www.acluvsamerica.com).
www.telladf.org www.domawatch.org