Local Democratic leaders are emerging as central figures in the contentious struggle over same-sex marriage in Michigan, battling their Republican counterparts at every legal turn.
The coalition of East Lansing-based leaders — which includes State Sen. Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, State Rep. Sam Singh, Mayor Nathan Triplett, as well as Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum — vowed Tuesday to use any legal means necessary in pursuit of what they described as an inevitable end to Michigan's same-sex marriage ban.
Byrum married the first same-sex couple on Saturday, and promised to keep fighting for their legal rights as well as others married that day.
“The courthouse was full of laughter,” Barb Byrum said. “There were tears shed of pure joy.”
Byrum opened the doors of the Ingham County Courthouse in Mason and had some special guests help them officiate weddings, including Triplett.
Byrum and Triplett led Michigan politicians and political activist groups Tuesday at the Capitol in an attempt to end Snyder and Schuette’s opposition to U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman’s ruling in the case of Rowse and DeBoer in Detroit.
“The jubilation that we felt when Michigan finally stepped into the 21st century was tampered only by the close-mindedness of our Attorney General, who has decided to wage forward with an appeal and ask for a stay,” Michigan Whitmer said at the press conference. “It’s no longer OK to try to legitimize and legalize discrimination.”
Before Schuette’s stay was granted, same-sex couples in Ingham, Washtenaw and other counties lined up outside their county courthouses the morning after the ruling and made their unions legal.
Byrum married 57 couples on Saturday alone.
“It was my intent to open on Monday ... I couldn’t sleep on Friday knowing that I would be responsible for making this couple wait another two days,” Byrum said. “Couples that had waited, in many cases, many decades to join their partner in marriage.”
Byrum was the first county clerk to marry a same-sex couple in Michigan, Lansing residents Glenna DeLong and Marsha Caspar, who were at the Capitol Tuesday.
“We didn’t plan, try or even think about being the first gay couple to marry in Michigan,” DeLong said. “I truly don’t understand (people’s) resistance to treating each other with respect.”
The appeal
Although the initial stay was only intended to last until Wednesday, a higher court moved to extend the stay Tuesday afternoon.
Attorney General spokeswoman Joy Yearout said a standard for handling the situation was set with a similar case in Utah, where a stay was granted to give the opposing side the opportunity to appeal.
“As we anticipated, the Sixth Circuit recognized the similarities to the Utah case and granted our request for stay,” Yearout said. “We will now focus on preparing an appeal in defense of the constitution and the will of the people.”
A hearing for the appeal has not yet been scheduled.
Kenneth Mogill, an attorney for Rowse and DeBoer, said the court expedited the appeal.
The state’s attorneys initially were denied for an earlier stay during DeBoer v. Snyder proceedings, according to court documents detailing the extension of the stay.
“Counsel for Michigan assert that during closing arguments in the district court, counsel asked the district court to stay its order should the court rule in favor of the plaintiffs,” the document reads. “The district court did not grant a stay.”
East Lansing’s role
For Triplett, the actions of Snyder and Schuette don’t come as a surprise.
“In nearly every one of these cases a stay has been issued at some point in time,” he said. “What’s important to know is that the marriages on Saturday occurred when no stay was in place.”
Triplett has been a long-time supporter of same-sex rights, and spoke to The State News after the press conference about federal benefits same-sex couples could experience if they where allowed to marry.
“There are ramifications on a number of issues,” he said. “There are a number of different rights and responsibilities that are dependent on if the government recognizes these unions as legal.”
Triplett spoke about MSU’s role in recognizing the change as well. MSU has told The State News in the past that they would wait to see how the same-sex marriage debate played out before taking a stance on it.
Staff writer Sergio Martínez-Beltrán contributed to this report.
