US: Gay couples assert that anti-gay marriage arguments ‘don’t hold water’ in court filing
Arguments against recognising the marriage of some 300 married same-sex couples in Michigan “don’t hold water”, a court filing argues.
Not long after a judge declared Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional in March, an appeals court issued a stay against the ruling.
However, clerks in Michigan were then told to cease issuing marriage licenses to hundreds of same-sex couples after a motion of stay once more temporarily reinstated the ban.
Eight couples have now filed a motion stating that arguments against same-sex marriage were not valid.
“Defendants’ response boils down to three points. First, the Sixth Circuit made them do it. Second, plaintiffs don’t have it that bad. Third, plaintiffs brought this on themselves by getting married in the first place. None of these responses holds water,” lawyers for the eight couples wrote.
The state argues that a 2004 voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage defines marriage as between one man and one woman.
