Michigan AG Files Brief Defending Gay Marriage Ban

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette is asking a federal appeals court to uphold the state's 2004 voter-approved gay marriage ban.

In a brief filed Wednesday with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Schuette suggested judges come to the same finding as the U.S. Supreme Court on Michigan's affirmative action ban.

The high court recently ruled that Michigan voters had the right to prevent universities from using affirmative action in admissions decisions.

Schuette says the same should hold true in the same-sex marriage case.

Michigan's ban on gay marriage was declared unconstitutional in March by a Detroit federal judge. Hundreds of couples were married before the appeals court suspended the ruling a day later.

The plaintiffs have until June 9 to file a response to Schuette's brief.