With the U.S. Supreme Court hearing testimony tomorrow on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans in places like Michigan, I thought it would be a good time to repost my interview with April DeBoer and Jayne Rowze. Although much has happened since our interview a bit over a year ago – like the addition of a fourth child to their […]

Sneaking this hearing in on a historic day for the LGBT community is dirty politics. Take action to make sure testimony opposing RFRA legislation gets heard. It’s hard not to be cynical about the timing of the Michigan Senate committee hearing on “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” (RFRA) legislation on April 28th. The same day DeBoer v Snyder, the case for […]

At a conference today, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) agreed to hear the marriage equality case of April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse. The two women have adopted four children but are not able to adopt them together because they are not married thanks to Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage. The original suit was challenging Michigan’s adoption laws […]

After mounting what can only be called a lackluster and embarrassing defense of Michigan’s bigoted ban on same-sex marriage last month, Attorney General Bill Schuette was handed a stunning defeat as the federal judge overseeing the case struck down the ban as unconstitutional. Schuette then appealed the ruling and asked for the appeals court to meet “en banc” to rule […]

Photo by Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog After District Court Judge Bernard Friedman ruled Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional last Friday afternoon, he did not stay his own decision pending the outcome of any appeals. Because of this, Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette, acting on behalf of Gov. Rick Snyder, filed an emergency request to stay the decision. […]

The ban on same-sex marriage in Michigan can tear families apart [left to right: April, Nolan, Jacob, Jayne, and Ryanne] Tomorrow the trial of April DeBoer vs. Rick Sndyer begins. This trial has implications not on for our state but for the entire country. Although it started as a suit to give same-sex parents the same sorts of adoption rights […]

Share the Love Late last year, Anne and I traveled to the home of Jayne Rowse and April DeBoer, a same-sex couple with adopted children who find themselves at the center of a fierce legal battle over marriage equality and adoption rights for same-sex couples in our state. Our interview got a lot of attention and spurred me on to […]

Every day this week I have been posting about the fundraiser for the legal fund for April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse who are challenging Michigan’s discriminatory marriage ban. Today is the last day. Over half of the residents in our state oppose this law and, equally as important, it is a case that’s likely to go to the U.S. Supreme […]

I want to introduce you to the legal team who is fighting to end the ban on same sex marriage in Michigan. These heroes haven’t received any compensation at all for their works but they deserved to be recognized.

Attorneys Carole Stanyar, Dana Nessel, Ken Mogill and Robert Sedler have years of experience trying criminal and civil cases both in state and federal courts. Ms. Stanyar, Mr. Mogill, and Mr. Sedler have all argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, while Ms. Nessel is recognized as one of Michigan’s premier attorneys for LGTB issues, having represented numerous clients over the years. Additionally, there are two nationally recognized, high-profile attorneys, Mary Bunauto and Leslie Cooper, who have signed on to consult for the trial. Mary Bunauto is the Civil Rights Project Director for Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD). Ms. Bunauto successfully argued Baker v. State of Vermont in 1999 which allowed for the first civil unions law in the country. Ms. Bunauto also worked on the DOMA case. Leslie Cooper is an attorney for the ACLU’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project. She is currently challenging Pennsylvania’s ban on same-sex marriage in Whitewood v. Wolf.

These attorneys who are handling the DeBoer v. Snyder case have assembled a nationally recognized team of expert witnesses who…

NOTE: Every day this week I will be posting about the fundraiser for the legal fund for April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse who are challenging Michigan’s discriminatory marriage ban. Over half of the residents in our state oppose this law and it’s time for it to go away for good. Equally as important, it is a case that’s likely to […]

One day we’ll just call it “marriage” NOTE: Every day this week I will be posting about the fundraiser for the legal fund for April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse who are challenging Michigan’s discriminatory marriage ban. Over half of the residents in our state oppose this law and it’s time for it to go away for good. Equally as important, […]