Michigan gay marriage ban

Jackson Women's Health Organization in 2022.

And as Kaplan points out, "There is no case in the federal court right now where someone is challenging the marriage equality decision."

But how likely is the Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell?

That depends on whom you ask.

This decision on March 20, 2014, ruled that Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, leading to a whirlwind of weddings as over 300 couples tied the knot the very next day. Judge Sima Patel did not issue a compliance order in hopes of averting a constitutional fight over the judiciary telling the legislative branch how to conduct its business.

"However, as a legislator, I’m not the one who would be responsible for raising millions of dollars for it. But there is no sign that Republican House Speaker Matt Hall will budge. … Wanting this on the ballot and having it be feasible at this exact time are two different questions. Obergefell and his spouse, John Arthur, who was dying from ALS, had been married in Maryland, but because Ohio didn't recognize gay marriage, Obergefell wasn't allowed to list himself as the surviving spouse on Arthur's death certificate.

"All those things should be on the radar and should be being discussed and, at the same time, the community needs to be incredibly concerned, worried, angry in opposition of all the attacks against transgender people."

Nessel: "My hope is that this will be on the ballot in 2026, that we will repeal both the Michigan Marriage Amendment as well as any underlying statutes that prohibit marriage between same-sex couples and it won't be a concern for us in Michigan."

She added: "The longer we have same-sex marriage and the more people who just know same-sex couples and see these are their neighbors, their friends, their parishioners in their churches, the more they don't want to hurt them or discriminate against them, the more it's normalized in our culture.

So, what was it like to cover the landmark decision? And recently, at its annual meeting, the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the nation, voted to work to overturn gay marriage.

So how dire is the threat to same-sex marriage? Carole Stanyar, the Ann Arbor attorney who, along with now-Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, represented DeBoer and Rowse, believes same-sex marriage is safe.

In the Obergefell decision, same-sex marriage "was grounded ...

"The reality still is our state has a homophobic constitutional amendment on the books that is ... “Enough is enough,” said Brinks in a statement. But even if the resolution is resurrected from committee and manages to pass, it would not carry the weight of law. In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas said the court should reconsider past rulings that established contraception access and same-sex marriage as constitutional rights.

So I think they have less to worry about."

What sort of support is there for same-sex marriage? This involved more than just repealing outdated statutes; it required a comprehensive review of state laws to identify and amend provisions inconsistent with the recognition of same-sex marriage. In 2004, Michigan voters approved adding this language, the Michigan Marriage Amendment, to the state's Constitution:  "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." But the subsequent Obergefell ruling made the state's amendment illegal.

So, why are there concerns about the legality of same-sex marriage?

The Obergefell decision has been under attack.

Snyder. “How much longer are we going to pretend that it’s normal or okay for a speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives to ignore the constitution and disregard a judge’s orders?” The Brinks filing suggests, as an alternative, the House could return the bills to the Senate to send to the governor. Married same-sex couples can file joint state tax returns, potentially resulting in tax benefits and simplifying their financial affairs.

The question for a lot of Democratic and progressive groups is whether that is an effort they want to launch during a busy mid-term with a slew of big offices at stake.

Digging deeper: The legal matter of same-sex marriage spent years and years in courts leading all the way up to the Supreme Court ten years ago.