Following a Michigan Court of Appeals ruling on May 23 that the state's marriage amendment prohibits public employers from offering domestic partner benefits, the city of Kalamazoo has told four non-unionized employees that their partners have about a month to find alternative health insurance.
Said Kalamazoo City Manager Kenneth Collard: “We have no authority, as being a creation of the state, to ignore the (Michigan) constitution as defined.”
Some cities in Michigan, but apparently not Kalamazoo, have upheld the benefits pending an appeal brought by 21 same-sex couples and the ACLU which the Michigan High Court has said they will hear.
Said ACLU of Michigan executive director Kary Moss: “It was never the intention of Michigan voters, who approved the marriage amendment, to take health care benefits away from Michigan families. We are excited about this development and hope that the Michigan Supreme Court will give these families another chance at justice by asking a lower court to explore voter intent.”
UPDATE: Ann Arbor School District says they too shall “honor the will of the voters.”
