Detroit (AP) – A federal judge said March 7 he expects to make a decision within two weeks in a challenge to Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Attorneys presented scientific data, expert testimony and arguments about constitutional protections before Judge Bernard Friedman in the case that has attracted attention because of the testimony of Mark Regnerus, a conservative social science researcher at the University of Texas.
Plaintiffs Jayne Rowse and April DeBoer have been together for eight years and are raising three adopted children who have special needs. Under Michigan’s law, they can’t jointly adopt the kids because they’re not married, which could cause custody and other legal issues if one of the women died.
“We are hopeful we’ll be on the right side of history,” DeBoer said. “Everyone realizes that marriage means family, and that’s what we want.”
Plaintiffs’ attorney Ken Mogill told Friedman during his closing statement that there is no rational basis for Michigan’s stance on gay marriage.
“The right to marry is a fundamental right that should apply regardless of sexual orientation,” Mogill said.
But Kristin Heyse, an attorney for the state, argued that the case is about studies that show children from opposite-sex marriages fare better in school and other aspects of life.
“It’s about science and data,” Heyse said. “It’s about what’s best for the children of the state of Michigan.”
The state’s defense relied heavily on Regnerus’ widely discredited 2012 study that allegedly found young adults had more problems if they were raised with a mother or father who had a same-sex relationship.
Regnerus’ colleagues, however, have distanced themselves from his work and testimony.
Christine Williams, chairwoman of the University of Texas sociology department, said Regnerus’ views are not those of her department “nor do they reflect the views of the American Sociological Association, which takes the position that the conclusions he draws from his study of gay parenting are fundamentally flawed on conceptual and methodological grounds.”
