Michigan Ban on Benefits for Same-Sex Partners of Government Employees Ruled Unconstitutional

Even though the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit rejected a constitutional challenge to the state’s ban on same-sex marriage just days ago, U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson ruled on November 12 that Michigan’s Public Employee Domestic Partner Benefit Restriction Act, passed in 2011, violates the Equal Protection Clause.  Judge Lawson rested his ruling on the anti-gay animus he found in reviewing the enactment of the measure.

On the one hand, the … <Read More>