Lipton shows support for new same-sex marriage proposal

By Jeremy Selweski
C & G Staff Writer

LANSING — State Rep. Ellen Cogen Lipton, D-Huntington Woods, is one of several Democratic Michigan legislators sponsoring a new plan that would amend the state constitution to allow same-sex marriages in Michigan.
   
“To me, this is really a human dignity issue,” Lipton said. “It’s about giving a lot of committed couples the dignity and respect we all deserve. It’s sad to have a constitution that does not give all people the same protections. Same-sex couples are clearly not given the same legal rights as everyone else.”

Lipton and other legislators are hoping the proposal will receive the two-thirds majority approval it needs in both the state House of Representatives and Senate in order to appear on the ballot in the November 2010 election. The proposal itself consists of three bills that would not only legalize same-sex marriage in the state but also allow Michigan to recognize gay marriages from other states. In addition, it includes a religious exemption that would give clergy throughout the state the right to refuse to perform or certify same-sex marriages.

The plan was introduced by Rep. Pam Byrnes, D-Lyndon Township, speaker pro tempore of the state House, who believes that allowing same-sex marriage is essential if Michigan wants to be a state that stands up for equality and forward-thinking principles.

“This issue resonates very well with young people, who are drawn to areas where there are more progressive ideas,” she said. “It’s all about quality of life, and tolerance and acceptance of different lifestyles should be a big part of that. Areas that embrace non-discrimination are more successful at attracting young people.”

Byrnes stressed that legalizing same-sex marriage in Michigan would also be a major step in the right direction for one of the major issues on the minds of people across the nation: health care. The representative’s late brother-in-law, who was gay, was denied access to his partner’s medical benefits and passed away shortly thereafter. Byrnes largely attributes her brother-in-law’s death to his lack of health coverage.

 “I think we all should be afforded health care benefits,” she said. “To deny someone because of their sexual orientation is just unacceptable.”

According to Lipton, 15 states currently provide some level of protection for the rights of same-sex couples. However, these marriages are not legally recognized in Michigan because in 2004, voters passed a constitutional amendment — dubbed Proposal 2 — banning gay marriage and other same-sex unions throughout the state. But even though Proposal 2 passed by a 59 percent majority and only five years have passed since then, Byrnes is confident that a same-sex marriage plan would stand a good chance of approval in 2010.

 “Surveys conducted this summer have shown that the tides are changing and support for same-sex marriage is growing,” she said. “People are recognizing that these are their friends, family members and other people they care about who are being discriminated against. I think people are a lot less fearful about this now.”

Lipton agreed, pointing out that legalizing gay marriage repeatedly came up as an important issue with local residents — especially in Ferndale, where there are a large number of same-sex couples — when she was campaigning last year.

 “It will be six years later (in 2010), so hopefully we’ll all be six years wiser,” she said. “You’re going to be getting a younger generation of voters out to the polls. Kids who were only 12 in 2004 will be 18 in 2010, so they will be eligible to vote for the first time.”

However, some advocates and public officials opposed to same-sex marriage are arguing that this is not the right time to be devoting the time, effort and funding necessary to pass such a proposal.

 “I think it’s pretty clear that the state of Michigan is in financial turmoil right now, and the focus of the state Legislature should be on bringing jobs to the state and getting us out of this economic crisis,” said David Maluchnik, director of communications for the Michigan Catholic Conference. “There’s no time to be discussing something like this when Michigan is suffering the way it is. We need to focus on getting rid of the rampant poverty, unemployment and home foreclosures in our state.”

Although Maluchnik said little about the ideas behind the plan — “It really wouldn’t surprise anyone that the Catholic Church is opposed to gay marriage,” he noted — he was skeptical that representatives like Lipton and Byrnes have as much support as they believe they do.

 “I don’t think there’s anywhere near the number of votes needed for this to get through the House right now,” he said.

Only time will tell on that, Byrnes said, as it is still very early in the process. The proposal must first gain sufficient approval at a House Judiciary Committee hearing, which probably will not happen until at least January, before it even makes it to the floor for discussion.

If the plan does find its way onto the November 2010 ballot, Lipton believes that its chances at the polls would depend on whether the public is receiving the most accurate information.

 “We’re going to need a very broad-based education campaign because there were a lot of misconceptions out there in 2004,” she said. “A lot of out-of-state interests came in and tried to tinker with our state constitution. We just want to cut through all the misinformation and rhetoric. It’s certainly worth spending the time and effort again to give people the chance to really understand this issue.”

You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Selweski at jselweski@candgnews.com or at (586) 218-5004.