The Michigan Supreme Court has ruled that governments and state universities may not legally offer health insurance to the partners of unmarried workers, including homosexuals.
The state's highest court ruled 5-to-2 on Wednesday that a constitutional amendment passed by Michigan voters in 2004, defining marriage as only the union of one man and one woman, also blocks "domestic partner" policies from providing spousal benefits to partners of unmarried employees -- including homosexuals -- at the University of Michigan and other public-sector employers. Peter LaBarbera with Americans for Truth About Homosexuality says he is glad the court chose not to reward relationships other than true marriage. "The fact is government should be promoting real marriage -- and when you give benefits to extramarital relationships, be they heterosexual or homosexual, you are undermining marriage. So we think this is a good thing," LaBarbera explains. LaBarbera is pleased to see judges deferring to the expressed will of the people in this case. "It was clear that, in Michigan, taxpayers did not want to fund extramarital relationships, and we're glad that the Supreme Court has not imposed a false will on the people," he says. Wednesday's ruling upheld an appeals court decision that forced as many as 20 public universities, community colleges, school districts, and local governments in Michigan to re-write their personnel policies. Those entities had previously granted spousal benefits to the claimed partners of unmarried employees. The Michigan decision came on the same day that the New York State Court of Appeals essentially legalized same-sex "marriage" in that state, provided the ceremony is performed in a jurisdiction such as Massachusetts or Canada where such "marriages" are legal. Pro-family groups are expected to appeal that decision to the federal courts.
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