Weekly Summer Edition Ann Arbor, MI
MichiganDaily.com
CELEBRATING OUR ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY- FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Thursday, July 2, 2015
ZACH MOORE/Daily
Ann Arbor residents celebrate the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage.
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE LEGALIZED Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision champions equality By ALYSSA BRANDON AND LARA MOEHLMAN Summer Managing News Editors
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in a 5-to-4 decision that same-sex couples
have a constitutional right to marriage. Justice Anthony Kennedy delivered the long-awaited decision Friday morning. “The Constitution promises liberty to all within its reach, a liberty that includes certain specific rights that allow persons, within a lawful realm, to define and express their identity. The petitioners in these cases seek to find that liberty by marry-
ing someone of the same sex and having their marriages deemed lawful on the same terms and conditions as marriages between persons of the opposite sex,” Kennedy wrote in the decision. In his remarks at the White House following the decision’s release, President Barack Obama said the Supreme Court’s ruling was not only a victory for the couples represented in the cases, but a victory for the U.S. as a whole.
“And this ruling is a victory for America,” he said. “This decision affirms what millions of Americans already believe in their hearts. When all Americans are treated as equal, we are all more free.” He also said the decision should encourage those who are still fighting for social change that change is possible. “But today should also give us hope that on the many issues
with which we grapple, often painfully, real change is possible.” he said. “Shift in hearts and minds is possible. And those who have come so far on their journey to equality have a responsibility to reach back and help others join them, because for all of our differences, we are one people, stronger together than we could ever be alone. That’s always been our story.” See MARRIAGE, Page 3
ANN ARBOR
OPINION
IT’S ABOUT TIME Overdue ruling sets historic precedent. >> SEE PAGE 4
INDEX Vol. CXXI, No. 137 | © 2015 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS ....................................2 OPINION ...............................4 ARTS ......................................6 CLASSIFIEDS.........................8 SUDOKU.................................2 SPORTS..................................7
Community reacts to Supreme Court ruling Plaintiffs, residents celebrate victory By LARA MOEHLMAN Summer Managing News Editor
As news that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of samesex marriage swept across the U.S. Friday morning, supporters rallied in both downtown Ann Arbor and Washington D.C. in celebration of this historic decision.
The Jim Toy Community Center, an advocacy group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer residents of Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and the greater Washtenaw County area, hosted a “Day of Decision Rally” so supporters could gather in response to the Court’s decision. After quieting the crowd, April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, one couple represented in the string of cases considered by the Court, offered remarks under rainbow colored streamers dur-
ing the press conference portion of the event. DeBoer thanked her lawyers for their determination and hard work. In January 2012, Michigan residents April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court, challenging Michigan’s ban on adoption by same-sex couples. DeBoer and Rowse separately adopted one son and two daughters, respectively, but were unable to jointly adopt their children because Michigan law
did not recognize same-sex marriages, and only granted joint parent adoption rights to married couples. “It’s been a long, long, hard road,” Deboer said. “It’s been four and a half years in the making… We would not be here if it weren’t for many people, and first and foremost our attorneys: Dana Nessel and Ken Mogill, Bob Sedler and Carole Stanyar. So I want to thank you guys as well. My last comment is to my beauSee COMMUNITY, Page 8