In 2004, voters approved a constitutional amendment, Michigan State Proposal – 04-2, that banned same-sex marriage and civil unions in the state.
DETROIT (AP) -- A federal judge says he'll wait for important rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court before deciding the future of Michigan's ban on gay marriage.
Judge Bernard Friedman heard arguments Thursday on a lesbian couple's challenge to a state law that bars them from jointly adopting children.
At the judge's request, the two Detroit-area nurses expanded their case to target the state's 2004 constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
The judge says Jayne Rowse and April DeBoer made a "compelling" argument that the law violates the U.S. Constitution's Equal Protection Clause. However, he says he wants to wait to rule because a future Supreme Court opinion in a California case could affect the Michigan case.
