Michigan's constitutional marriage ban moves forward

LANSING – On Tuesday, Feb. 24 a hearing was held in the House Family and Children Services Committee regarding House Joint Resolution U (HJR U), otherwise known as the marriage amendment. After one hour of debate, the committee elected to vote on the issue, moving it forward by a vote of 6-0. All six Republicans on the committee voted yes, while the three Democrats declined to vote. There were no votes against the resolution. The vote in the House was scheduled for Wed. Feb. 25 at 1:00 p.m. at press time.
The resolution must pass by a two thirds vote in both the House and Senate in order to be put on the ballot in November. Voters would then decide whether or not to amend the constitution to ban marriage for same-sex couples. Many fear that such a resolution on the ballot would help win Michigan for Bush.
Members of the committee heard testimony from representatives of both sides of the issue before voting. The room was packed to capacity with people from both sides with a strong showing of LGBT community members and allies there to oppose the resolution.
On the same day of the hearing a letter to the editor was published in the Lansing State Journal advocating the death penalty for homosexuals who do not reform to become heterosexuals. Also President Bush voiced his public support for an amendment to the United States Constitution to ban marriage for same-sex couples.
Rep. Gary Newell addressed the committee at the opening of the hearing. He is the sponsor the HJR U. He acknowledged that Michigan already had laws against marriage for same-sex couples but said that Michigan must protect itself from the edicts of activist judges in other states.
During public testimony, each participant was allowed two minutes to speak. Due to the one-hour time limit, not all who asked to speak were able to do so. Sean Kosofsky of the Triangle Foundation was the first speaker. He urged the committee to vote against the resolution. "My right to a family does not belong on a ballot," he said.
Alan Semonian who is on the Human Rights Campaign Board of Governors, spoke about the resolution's potential economic impact. "Marriage is big business," he told the committee, adding that the resolution was not good for business or for society.
Tom Patrick spoke about the impact the resolution would have on his family. He and his partner have three adopted sons. Patrick is a stay at home father and can do so because he is able to get domestic partner benefits through his partner's place of employment. "I want you to think of my three sons," he said.
Others speaking against the resolution included Mudihillum Muquribu of the American Friends Service Committee, Shelli Weisberg, Legislative Director for ACLU of Michigan; Melanie B. Jacobs, Assistant Professor at Michigan State University-DCL College of Law, and Nathan Triplett of Kalamazoo. Triplett's father is gay.
People speaking in support of the resolution included Sister Monica Kostielney, President and CEO of the Michigan Catholic Conference and Gary Glenn, President of the American Family Association of Michigan.
Committee Member Rep. Doug Hart (R-Kent County) asked many questions about the resolution and stated that he was in need of more information on the matter. He also said that a matter at the center of so much controversy deserved more than one hour of debate. He still voted yes, however.
Rep. Artina Tinsley Hardman (D-Wayne County), Minority Vice-Chair, spoke against the resolution before the committee voted on the issue. "Someone testified about the ministers and 40,000 members of various churches in Detroit (who are in favor of HJR U). I today believe that these ministers and those 40,000 parishioners would be happy if the legislators here today were debating on how they as citizens of this great state could have health care, and maybe about car insurance that did not red-line in urban areas, maybe about after school programs, how about more jobs for the unemployed, maybe even extending benefits for the unemployed, fixing the highways. This resolution will not help us get to One Michigan. It will further divide us," she said. She elected to pass rather than vote on the resolution.
Other Committee members included Committee Chair Lauren Hager (R-St. Clair County), Majority Vice-Chair John Stahl (R-Lapeer County), Barb Vander Veen (R-Ottawa County), Joanne Voorhees (R-Kent County), Fulton Sheen (R-Allegan County), Brenda Clack (D-Genesee County), and Jennifer Elkins (D-Arenac Bay, Clare, and Gladwin Counties).