US: City commissioner calls on Michigan to cease appeal to keep same-sex marriage ban
A city commissioner in the US state of Michigan has called on the state’s attorney general and governor to cease their appeal of a decision to strike-down a same-sex marriage ban in the state.
Last month US District Judge Bernard Friedman ruled that the state’s voter-approved same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional, a decision which attorney general Bill Schuette immediately appealed.
A stay was then put on the ruling by the 6th Circuit Court of appeals, leaving 300+ Michigan gay and lesbian couples who married in the interim in a legal limbo, pending the state’s appeal.
Royal Oak City Commissioner Jeremy Mahrle, has called on Governor Rick Snyder and Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, to cease the appeal, saying it will simply cost taxpayers money, and will not withstand a federal challenge.
“The continuation of this appeals process is going to cost Royal Oak and Michigan taxpayers an undetermined amount of money,” said Mahrle.
“And at the same time, the attorney generals in other several other states — Oregon, Nevada, Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania, California and Illinois — have decided to cease their appeals, realizing that those appeals, in fact, will not withstand a federal constitutional challenge.”
“This is a way to get a swifter, more thoughtful or complete review by all the judges,” Schuette said in a statement.
He claims it will save taxpayers’ money, as the full panel would be required later in the process anyway.
