by
AG Dana Nessel
Michigan's Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel, who was directly involved in the legal fight, is happy the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined a request to revisit a 2015 landmark ruling that gave the green light nationally for same-sex marriages.
But she's not convinced the court is done addressing the matter.
"I am relieved for today’s decision reaffirming same-sex couples’ continued right to dignity and protection under the law, but we cannot take those protections for granted," Nessel said in a statement on X on Monday. "Members of this Supreme Court have already told us they are willing to overturn Obergefell. It’s only a matter of time before they do."
Conservative groups and lawmakers have vowed not to give up the legal fight to ban same-sex marriages.
Nessel was one of the attorneys representing April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, a Hazel Park couple with three children, who fought to overturn Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage. The case ended up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Michigan's Constitution still contains language from a 2004 voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage and civil unions. The federal ruling makes it unenforceable. However, that could change if the U.S. Supreme Court ever overturns the previous ruling.
"Today's victory allows us a reprieve, an opportunity to bring our state Constitution into alignment with the protections our residents are entitled to and have enjoyed for more than a decade," Nessel also wrote on X. "Now is the time to act."
