In honor of Constitution Day, Cooley Law School’s Ann Arbor campus will host an interactive panel discussion on Friday, Sept. 20 entitled “Finding Michigan’s Invisible People.”
The panel will address the pending DeBoer v. Snyder case which raises two constitutional issues: the 2004 Michigan Marriage Amendment, which bars recognition of same-sex relationships in Michigan, and the Michigan Adoption Code, which keeps non-married couples from jointly adopting children.
The plaintiffs, April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, originally filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to challenge the Michigan Adoption Code, which prevents them from jointly adopting the three children they have adopted separately.
Michigan adoption law allows married couples and individuals to adopt, but non-married couples cannot jointly adopt a child.
Since same-sex couples cannot legally marry in Michigan, they cannot legally adopt together.
U.S. District Court Judge Bernard Friedman allowed the plaintiffs to amend their suit to include a challenge to Michigan’s same-sex marriage ban.
Panelists for this event include:
• Dana Nessel: lead plaintiff’s counsel in DeBoer
• Nate Goetting: associate professor at Adrian College, and adjunct professor at Cooley
• Brendan Berry: associate professor at Cooley
• Daniel Ray: professor at Cooley
The event is scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the law school, located at 3475 Plymouth Rd. in Ann Arbor.
“The United States Supreme Court has ruled several times, most recently this past June, that discrimination against gays and lesbians just because of their sexual orientation is unconstitutional,” said Dan Ray, professor of constitutional law at Cooley and moderator for the panel. “The Constitution Day panel will discuss issues that are important to couples and families not just here in Michigan, but all across the country.”
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