ABOUT THE CASE: Originally filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, DeBoer v. Snyder sought to overturn a ban on same-sex couples being able to legally marry in the state of Michigan. The case included a trial at which I served as an expert witness for the plaintiffs, April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse.
The plaintiffs won the case at the District Court level. In his ruling, Judge Bernard Friedman stated that the court considered my testimony to be "highly credible" in "noting that 5,300 children in Michigan are currently being raised by same-sex couples."
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the Distict Court decision and the case was appealed to the US Supreme Court. It was one of the four cases that went before the court and resulted in a landmark ruling stating that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry in the United States.
DeBoer v. Snyder
Expert witness report of Gary J. Gates, PhD
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Transcript of the testimony of Gary J. Gates, PhD
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Media coverage of my testimony:
Fox 2 (Detroit): includes interview
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