The anti-gay Christian law firm Liberty Counsel has filed an amicus brief urging the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage, which was struck down by U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman back in March.
Among Liberty Counsel’s arguments made in the brief is the assertion that “not only is there no bodily good or function toward which two same-sex bodies can coordinate, but there are in fact inherent harms associated with same-sex unions."
The brief continues:
The personal, social and financial costs of these homosexual-specific health problems concern not just those who engage in homosexual activity, but also the larger community of citizens who help provide services and who must bear part of the burdens imposed by the health challenges. It would be rational for the voters of Michigan to seek to minimize the deleterious effects of these conditions on public health, safety and welfare by affirming that marriage in Michigan remains the union of one man and one woman.
Think Progress reports that the brief goes on to highlight "a number of health concerns that are unique or specific to the LGBT community, including lower life expectancy, suicide, higher rates of substance abuse, depression, inadequate access to care, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, certain cancers, and eating disorders.”
Notably absent from the brief, however, are the numerous studies directly linking the LGBT health inequities to the “discrimination and stigma against homosexuality” in many parts of the country.
