(Jubilee City Church founder Ellis L. Smith speaks at a rally with dozens of pastors Monday in support of Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage.Credit Michigan Public Radio Network)
On the eve of Tuesday’s start of a federal court trial involving a lesbian couple wanting to adopt children, about 50 pastors gathered in a Baptist church Monday to speak out against gay marriage, saying it will undermine family and society.
Speaking at First Baptist World Changers Church in Detroit, the pastors said they represented a group of about 1,000 churches across the state that support the Michigan marriage amendment in 2004 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman. They’re concerned the trial set to start this week would undermine the 2004 law.
(Nolan, left, poses with April DeBoer, Jacob, Ryanne and Jayne Rowse on Oct. 14, 2013. DeBoer and Rowse are asking the court to overturn a 2004 law that prohibits same-sex couples from marrying in the state and to declare unconstitutional Michigan's Adoption Code, which prohibits joint adoption by gay or lesbian couples. Nolan and Jacob are adopted by Rowse; Ryanne is adopted by DeBoer.Photo: Mandi Wright, Detroit Free Press)
The trial set to begin Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit involves a lawsuit filed by two nurses who argue Michigan’s gay marriage and adoption bans violate their right to get married and adopt each other’s children. April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse sued in January 2012, initially raising only the adoption issue, but then challenging Michigan’s voter-approved gay marriage prohibition as well.
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