A federal judge already struck down Michigan's ban on recognizing and performing same-sex marriages, but given the possibility that the decision could be overturned on appeal, a new campaign looks to build public support for a ballot initiative that would establish marriage equality in Michigan.
"Our roadmap to victory calls for work on two tracks," Emily Dievendorf, executive director of Equality Michigan told the Detroit Free Press Friday. Advocates will, of course, continue the appeals process, "but if we don't get a favorable ruling, we intend on overturning Michigan's ban by ballot initiative in 2016."
The latest campaign, launched Friday in Pontiac, will be known as Michigan for Marriage. Equality Michigan is leading the new campaign, along with the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and the national organization Freedom to Marry, which is launching similar campaigns in numerous states around the country.
In March, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman struck down the state's constitutional amendment banning marriage was unconstitutional. In the 24 hours before state officials were granted a stay on that decision, more than 300 Michiganders married their same-sex partners. The state's Republican governor subsequently "suspended" the state-specific rights of those newlywed couples, though the federal government confirmed that it will recognize those marriages, allowing the couples to access more than 1,000 federal rights and privileges that come along with marriage.
Watch the Detroit Free Press' report on the campaign launch below.