LANSING, Mich. - The battle for marriage equality suffered a blow when the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld same-sex marriage bans in Michigan and three other states, but supporters say the fight will go on.

Emily Dievendorf, executive director of Equality Michigan, says while Michigan voters put the state's 2004 ban on same-sex marriage in place, the tide of public opinion has shifted over the last decade.

"In poll after poll, the majority of Michiganders consistently poll in favor of marriage equality," she says. "Michigan citizens believe they made a mistake in 2004 and are ready to change that."

Dievendorf says while a Supreme Court review of the issue is likely, advocates have already begun the groundwork to put a reversal of the state's same-sex marriage ban on the 2016 ballot. In its decision, the appeals court wrote the issue should be decided by voters, not judges.

She remains confident marriage equality will eventually become a reality in Michigan, but says every day the ban continues, the state is losing out.

"There are a lot of families and LGBT couples in Michigan for whom that was their last straw," says Dievendorf. "A lot of people are talking about leaving Michigan now after losing in the Sixth Circuit, so we do have the challenge of some people feeling like they've been let down again."

Dievendorf hopes Michiganders who are frustrated with the ruling will channel their energy into action through the Michigan for Marriage website.

"We're asking people to tell their stories," says Dievendorf. "We're asking people to join and to volunteer, and we hope that by the time we start this ballot campaign the people of Michigan will know who we are, and that we've always been there - and that we're people that they already know and love."

On the same day the same-sex marriage bans in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennesse were upheld, a federal judge in Missouri struck down that state's prohibition of same-sex marriage. Legal experts believe the contradictory decisions will propel the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court.


get more stories like this via email

Saturday is National Drug Take Back Day, and there will be more than 135 events across Wisconsin where folks can dispose of both controlled and noncontrolled prescription drugs.

In part, the annual occasion aims to combat the spread of illicit opioid prescriptions, which have long plagued Wisconsin and the nation.

Josh Kaul, Wisconsin's Attorney General, said at a Stand Up for Recovery Ceremony this week, the state is seeing fewer new opioid prescriptions.

"There has been a significant decline in opioid prescriptions over the last several years," Kaul observed. "That has been really encouraging to see. There is undoubtedly increased awareness that prescriptions can lead to substance-use disorder."

According to a news release, residents can bring e-cigarette devices with the batteries removed,
aerosol sprays, inhalers and pet medications, among other things. Illegal drugs, needles and anything containing a bodily fluid will not be accepted.

While overall new prescriptions may be down, data indicates Wisconsin still struggles with the opioid crisis. According to the state's Department of Health Services, there were more than 1,200 opioid-related deaths in Wisconsin in 2020, the latest full year of available data, the highest annual death count since at least 2014.

Kaul pointed out the pandemic has exacerbated underlying mental-health issues for those working through substance-use disorder.

"The pandemic has led, as we all know, to increased isolation, increased mental-health challenges," Kaul noted. "It has caused many people to lose loved ones as a result of the pandemic, and that has taken a major toll on mental health and on substance-use disorder."

While officials encourage people to dispose of unused prescriptions this weekend, there are nearly 500 permanent drug disposal boxes scattered across the state.

Yesterday, April 20, was an unofficial holiday for marijuana enthusiasts across the country, and here in Wisconsin, lawmakers marked the day by weighing the future of pot in the Badger State.

In a Senate committee hearing, legislators considered a Republican-authored bill which would legalize medical marijuana, with tight controls and regulation from state agencies and doctors.

Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Irma, noted both Republican and Democrat-controlled states have passed similar bills.

"It's in complete red states, it's in complete blue states, it's in purple states; and I don't think that medical marijuana is a partisan issue," Felzkowski asserted. "This is about a drug, it's not an FDA-approved drug, but it's a drug under a doctor's care that can help people with debilitating diseases."

Democrats have criticized Felzkowski's bill for being too restrictive, as the measure does not allow folks to smoke marijuana and only permits medical pot for a limited range of illnesses, although Felzkowski countered the list is open to additions.

Democrats have tried and failed for years to pass recreational marijuana bills through the GOP-controlled Legislature. Lawmakers are not scheduled to reconvene and vote on any bills until next year.

The measure is opposed by the Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association and the Wisconsin Medical Society, and supported by the Business Education Fund and the Wisconsin Hemp Farmers and Manufacturers Association.

Sen. Melissa Agard, D-Madison, said the bill is "half-baked" and doesn't go far enough.

"Senate Bill 1034 doesn't address our racial disparities," Agard contended. "And it doesn't provide a path for expungements and bars people who have been previously harmed by these controlled substances and the prohibition of cannabis from contributing to this important industry."

A recent Marquette Law School poll of Wisconsin voters found 61% of respondents support legalizing marijuana. And 51% of Republican respondents support full legalization, up 10% from 2019. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least 37 states, four U.S. territories and Washington, D.C. permit medical cannabis.

A new report confirms what it said CEOs have been telling shareholders for months: Inflation has been very good for business.

Lindsay Owens, executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative, the group behind the report, said families in Nebraska and across the U.S. are on the hook, as powerful corporations tap the pandemic's economic fallout to rake in record-breaking profits. Last year, corporate profit margins reached their highest level since 1950.

"Meanwhile, prices were soaring for American families," Owens pointed out. "CEOs and firms are not just passing on their rising costs, right? They're not just asking consumers to pay for inflation effectively. They're going for more."

In just one example uncovered by researchers of CEOs boasting during corporate earnings calls about price hikes and profits, the CEO of Constellation Brands, the parent company of popular beers Modelo and Corona, said the company planned to "take as much as [we] can" from its Hispanic customer base.

Owens noted if the playing field were level, other companies could take customers away from firms raising prices. But she emphasized virtual monopolies consolidated over past decades make it all but impossible. Tyson's CEO told shareholders it was raising prices to cover increased costs, plus a little extra.

"And that 'a little extra' is accelerating price hikes, and bringing in record profits for Tyson," Owens contended. "And because there are really only four major meatpackers, these guys are effectively all running the same pricing strategy. And there is really no one to undercut them."

Constellation Brands and Tyson have not yet responded to a request for comment. Last week Owens testified at a U.S. Senate Budget Committee hearing on price-gouging and corporate greed. She recommended the first option available to lawmakers to hold companies accountable is to make use of the tax code.

"Taxing excess and windfall profits will make profiteering less appealing to the large companies," Owens explained. "The second is thinking about enacting a federal price-gouging statute, and enforcing the laws already on the books."