New Effort to Remove Michigan’s Same-Sex Marriage Ban From State Constitution

A joint resolution introduced in the Michigan Senate last week would give voters the chance to amend the state’s constitution to protect same-sex marriage rights. Here’s what you need to know!

The Michigan State Constitution includes an outdated same-sex marriage ban (passed in 2004), which was never officially removed from the document after Obergefell v. Hodges passed in 2015. We call this situation a “zombie law” – because even though the old ban is unenforceable, there’s a risk it will come back to “life” if it’s still on the books. 

Take a look at the current language of the Michigan Constitution regarding marriage (Mich. Const. art. I, § 25):

“Sec. 25. To secure and preserve the benefits of marriage for our society and for future generations of children, the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose.”

See what we mean? If Obergefell were ever overturned in the future and federal protections for same-sex marriages were reversed, this language could become enforceable again, putting many LGBTQ+ families at risk. 

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That's where MI SJRF 2025 comes in! 

To keep that from happening, Michigan State Sen. Jeremy Moss introduced Senate Joint Resolution F last week. This resolution would give voters the chance to remove the state’s defunct ban on same-sex marriage, and to add gender neutral wording in related sections to protect marriage rights for all couples. 

“Even a decade after the landmark marriage equality decision, the LGBTQ+ community still faces increasingly hostile attacks, including a renewed political movement to re-ban same-sex marriage," Sen. Moss said in a press release on Thursday, adding “it's well past time to remove the discriminatory and, as of now, unconstitutional marriage ban language in our state's constitution.”

(We agree, and we bet Michigan voters do too! A 2022 poll found that 70% of the state’s residents supported same-sex marriage, up from 56.8% in 2013, and 24% support in 2004, when the ban was first passed.) 

• Read the full text of SJRF 2025 - 2026

To take effect, the resolution must be passed by two-thirds of both the Senate and House, and then placed on the ballot to be voted on by electors during the next general election. If voters approve, the constitution is amended, and same-sex marriage is protected at the state level. 

A previous attempt to amend the constitution was made in 2023, with MI HJRF 2023, but didn’t succeed. But following renewed concerns over the future of Obergefell, and the Supreme Court's decision earlier this week not to revisit it's 2015 decision, this effort may find the support it needs to pass.

Get the full scoop here: State Sen. Jeremy Moss Leading Charge to Finally Erase Michigan’s Same-Sex Marriage Ban

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