Michigan Supreme Court Associate Justice David Viviano could not comment on the pending national same-sex marriage case, but said a case related to state benefits reasonably could be brought to the Michigan Supreme Court in the future.

“An issue like this could come before our court,” Viviano said. “Like any case, someone would have to feel that there was a restriction on their freedom and then file a case to challenge the law.”

For same-sex couples to get full benefits of married life, Harry Perlstadt, professor emeritus in the Department of Sociology, said there would have to be a similar case brought to the Michigan Supreme Court or an amendment process to the Michigan Constitution. But even if the current national case filters down to the state level in June when the U.S. Supreme Court announces its decision, it will take more time for Michigan to change its policy.

“Same-sex marriage is a state-by-state issue, not a federal issue,” Perlstadt said. “This whole process is not going to be automatic … everything takes time.”

About 55.5 percent of Michigan residents favored same-sex marriage, 38.7 percent opposed and 5.9 percent neither favored or opposed in the 2012 State of the State Survey, which samples 1,000 adults living in Michigan.

“Public opinion is moving faster on this issue than almost anything on record,” said Charles Ballard, director of the survey and economics professor. “I am old enough to remember a time when gay rights was not even on the radar.”

Although Ballard sees this increase of acceptance for same-sex marriage, the opposition remains. Of those in the survey who did not agree with same-sex marriage, three to one people strongly oppose.

“Those who oppose are in the minority, but they hold their beliefs very strongly,” Ballard said.
Political science sophomore Michael Stobak said even though he is Republican, he feels the legislation change could be a good thing.

“As a Republican, it is my right to stick up for people and push for their equal rights,” Stobak said. “I understand the Republicans’ stance, but now in this country, those rights on marriage are not just a religion thing, it’s the ability to have the rights any other couple would have.”

First-year doctoral student Jing Yang, whose research is about self-presentation on social networks and mobile devices, explained why this topic exploded on social media sites, specifically Facebook, with many users switching their default picture to a red equal sign.

“Virality correlates with relevance and if it is easy to replicate,” Yang said. “We are social animals, so people are easily influenced by our friends to follow in a trend.”