ASMSU has taken a stand on the proposal to ban gay marriage and it's in resounding opposition.
MSU's undergraduate student government's Student Assembly passed a bill Thursday night to make a public statement against Proposal 2, which would amend Michigan's Constitution to recognize marriage as a union between a man and woman.
The assembly debated for more than an hour about the proposal and whether ASMSU has the right to chime in on what has been called rigidly partisan.
"ASMSU needs to act on this," said Derek Wallbank, representative for the Council for Students with Disabilities. "We should all stand up and say we won't sit by as members of our community are called second-class citizens - ASMSU has that obligation."
Wallbank introduced the bill and argued the proposal would directly discriminate against MSU students by eliminating domestic partner benefits that ASMSU has supported in the past.
MSU has a policy providing same-sex domestic partner benefits to faculty and staff.
Andrew Bell, Student Assembly external vice chairperson, said the nonpartisan ASMSU could not take a stand on the proposal.
"If we support or oppose this, it borders dangerously on being partisan," he said.
But Wallbank said partisanship doesn't equate to supporting or objecting the proposal. He said representatives should vote on how their constituents feel and not use the partisan proposal as an excuse for not addressing the issue.
Some assembly members said the students they represent might support the proposal and to take a stand against it would undermine students' views.
"This would bring us into a danger area with our constituents because they are diverse on the issue," said Jared Rapp, a representative for the College of Human Ecology. "It's not ASMSU's role to vote against something that is inherently partisan."
Religious groups on campus who oppose homosexual marriage would be disenfranchised if ASMSU supported the bill, said Erik Carr, a representative for the College of Engineering.
"We can't support this bill and turn our back on religious constituencies that oppose this," he said. "We shouldn't say anything."
But not opposing the proposal also discriminates against students, said Hallee Winnie, a representative for the College of Social Science.
"If we don't take an opinion, then we say it's all right to discriminate against our own constituents," she said.
ASMSU voted 17-3 to oppose the proposal, with four abstentions.
In passing a bill to oppose the proposal, ASMSU joins other campus groups and labor unions such as the Graduate Employees Union, which passed a resolution opposing Proposal 2 on Tuesday. GEU represents graduate employees at MSU.
The union said the proposal would discriminate against GEU members and could possibly invalidate the domestic partner benefits some members currently have.
The Residence Halls Association will also vote on a bill to oppose Proposal 2 in its general assembly meeting on Wednesday.
Staff writer Margaret Harding contributed to this report.
