(AgapePress) - Supporters of so-called "domestic partner" benefits have suffered a legal setback in Michigan.

A federal judge has denied requests made by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Women's Law Association, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University to file amicus or "friend of the court" briefs in support of the Ann Arbor Public Schools. The school system was sued earlier this year by the Thomas More Law Center for providing insurance benefits to the same-sex partners of its employees.

The Michigan-based public interest law firm asserted in its lawsuit that offering insurance benefits to the same-sex partners of public school employees violates the state's Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Thomas More's attorneys believe that public funding of such benefits is an attempt to legitimize and institutionalize same-sex marriage.

Thomas More attorney Pat Gillen contends that his opponents have a clear goal in mind. "I think the cultural elites see this as a battleground for marriage and are eager to pursue their agenda, which includes recognizing same-sex unions and treating them as if they were marriages," he says.

Ann Arbor Public Schools patterned their school system's domestic partner benefits policy after those being used by the University of Michigan and Wayne State University. But Gillen feels public schools and universities should not be using taxpayer dollars to push the homosexual agenda.

"It's a telling sign of cultural change and the further divorce of the cultural elites from the ordinary people who make this country work," the attorney says.

Gillen points out that the people of the State of Michigan decided by a majority vote not to recognize same-sex marriages. "These institutions of higher learning have taken it upon themselves to defy that rule in substance if not form, by recognizing domestic partnerships," he says.

According to the attorney, the judge ruled correctly in finding that the proper time for filing amicus briefs is at the appellate court level. Gillen will be back in court December 17, as Ann Arbor Public Schools has filed a motion to dismiss the suit for failure to state a claim.

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