Plaintiffs, residents 
celebrate victory

By LARA MOEHLMAN

Summer Managing News Editor 

As news that the Supreme 
Court ruled in favor of same-
sex marriage swept across the 
U.S. Friday morning, supporters 
rallied in both downtown Ann 
Arbor and Washington D.C. in 
celebration of this historic deci-
sion.

The 
Jim 
Toy 
Community 
Center, an advocacy group for 
gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgen-
der and queer residents of Ann 
Arbor, Ypsilanti and the greater 
Washtenaw County area, hosted 
a “Day of Decision Rally” so sup-
porters could gather in response 
to the Court’s decision.
After 
quieting 
the 
crowd, 
April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, 
one couple represented in the 
string of cases considered by the 
Court, offered remarks under 
rainbow colored streamers dur-

ing the press conference portion 
of the event. DeBoer thanked her 
lawyers for their determination 
and hard work.
In January 2012, Michigan 
residents 
April 
DeBoer 
and 
Jayne Rowse filed a lawsuit in 
the U.S. District Court, chal-
lenging Michigan’s ban on adop-
tion by same-sex couples.
DeBoer 
and 
Rowse 
sepa-
rately adopted one son and two 
daughters, respectively, but were 
unable to jointly adopt their 
children because Michigan law 

did not recognize same-sex mar-
riages, and only granted joint 
parent adoption rights to mar-
ried couples.
“It’s been a long, long, hard 
road,” Deboer said. “It’s been 
four and a half years in the mak-
ing… We would not be here if it 
weren’t for many people, and 
first and foremost our attorneys: 
Dana Nessel and Ken Mogill, Bob 
Sedler and Carole Stanyar. So I 
want to thank you guys as well. 
My last comment is to my beau-

Supreme Court’s 5-4 
decision champions 
equality

By ALYSSA BRANDON AND 
LARA MOEHLMAN 

Summer Managing News Editors 

The Supreme Court of the 
United States ruled in a 5-to-4 
decision that same-sex couples 

have a constitutional right to 
marriage.
Justice 
Anthony 
Kennedy 
delivered the long-awaited deci-
sion Friday morning.
“The Constitution promises 
liberty to all within its reach, a 
liberty that includes certain spe-
cific rights that allow persons, 
within a lawful realm, to define 
and express their identity. The 
petitioners in these cases seek 
to find that liberty by marry-

ing someone of the same sex and 
having their marriages deemed 
lawful on the same terms and 
conditions as marriages between 
persons of the opposite sex,” Ken-
nedy wrote in the decision.
In his remarks at the White 
House following the decision’s 
release, President Barack Obama 
said the Supreme Court’s ruling 
was not only a victory for the cou-
ples represented in the cases, but 
a victory for the U.S. as a whole.

“And this ruling is a victory for 
America,” he said. “This decision 
affirms what millions of Ameri-
cans already believe in their 
hearts. When all Americans are 
treated as equal, we are all more 
free.”
He also said the decision 
should encourage those who are 
still fighting for social change 
that change is possible.
“But today should also give 
us hope that on the many issues 

with which we grapple, often 
painfully, real change is possi-
ble.” he said. “Shift in hearts and 
minds is possible. And those who 
have come so far on their journey 
to equality have a responsibility 
to reach back and help others 
join them, because for all of our 
differences, we are one people, 
stronger together than we could 
ever be alone. That’s always been 
our story.”

Weekly Summer Edition
MichiganDaily.com

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See MARRIAGE, Page 3

See COMMUNITY, Page 8

Community reacts to Supreme Court ruling

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE LEGALIZED

ANN ARBOR 

CELEBRATING OUR ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY- FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Ann Arbor, MI

INDEX

Vol. CXXI, No. 137 | © 2015 The Michigan Daily 
michigandaily.com

NEWS ....................................
OPINION ............................... 
ARTS ......................................
CLASSIFIEDS.........................
SUDOKU.................................
SPORTS..................................

OPINION
IT’S ABOUT TIME

Overdue ruling sets historical 

precedent.

 >> SEE PAGE 4

ZACH MOORE/Daily
Ann Arbor residents celebrate the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage.