Schuette Urges Supreme Court To Take Gay Marriage Case
LANSING (WWJ/AP) - Attorney General Bill Schuette and supporters of gay marriage have at least one thing in common: They want the U.S. Supreme Court to use a Michigan case to settle the legality of same-sex nuptials.
Schuette's office filed a legal brief Monday at the Supreme Court. He wants the court to take the case, but he's urging the justices to affirm Michigan's ban on gay marriage.
"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ruled, and Michigan's constitution remains in full effect," said Schuette, in an earlier statement. "As I have stated repeatedly, the U.S. Supreme Court will have the final word on this issue. The sooner they rule, the better, for Michigan and the country."
More than 300 couples were married in four counties on a Saturday in March after Detroit federal Judge Bernard Friedman declared Michigan's gay marriage ban — approved by voters in 2004 — unconstitutional.
Federal Judge Bernard Friedman struck down the ban as unconstitutional last March, but an appeals court early this month recently overturned that decision.
Schuette, who defended the ban in Friedman's court, says courts must acknowledge "the wisdom of allowing the people to decide important issues at the ballot box."
Two Detroit-area nurses challenging the ban have also asked the Supreme Court to step in.
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