Detroit trial on same-sex marriage ban splits locals

The court outside the trial regarding the ban on same-sex unions in Detroit on Tuesday morning was peppered with protesters from both sides of the argument, Detroit Free Press said. April DeBoer, who has a female partner, is seeking to challenge the state's current ban on recognizing same-sex unions legally in Michigan. DFP said that the district court of US District Court Judge Benjamin Friedman plans to hear the case for eight days.

Referring to her partner Jayne Rowse, DeBoer said about the hearing, "Jayne (Rowse) and I are very proud to be a part of history. Nothing says family like the marriage license that says that we're legally a family. And that's what we're hoping for, and that's what we think we're going to get."

DeBoer added that the court case was spurred due to the limitations she and her partner had encountered while in the process of adopting a child. Michigan currently has a ban on second-parent adoption. According to the definition of Childwelfare.gov, second-parent adoption is the adoption of a child by a second parent in the home who is not married to the biological parent of the child. Majority of the lesbian and gay couples resort to this option to officially claim the biological children of their partners.

Around 60 people formed a crowd outside the Detroit district courthouse in opposition to DeBoer's claim, DFP said. Rex Evans of Ypsilanti and with Free Will Baptist Church, for one, had said, "The state of Michigan's already spoken on this issue; the people, the public has spoken, and God has spoken. Violations of this one-flesh union, whether heterosexual or homosexual, premarital or extramarital, contravene the divine plan for the famly, for the conception and rearing of children, bringing spiritual despair and guilt and death to individuals and cultures."

DeBoer reasoned that their challenge against the recognition of same-sex unions in the state goes beyond obtaining legal rights any traditionally-married couples have enjoyed coming from the state. "We love our children. This has started out about our children; this is still about our children," DeBoer stated.

Tags

Michigan ban on same sex couples, DeBoer vs Snyder

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