Michigan’s gay marriage trial ended on an explosive note Thursday, with the state’s final witness saying he believes unrepentant homosexuals are going to hell, Tresa Baldas reports.
His views emerged following a question from plaintiffs' attorney Ken Mogill, who is fighting to overturn Michigan’s ban on gay marriage.
“Is it accurate that you believe the consequence of engaging in homosexual acts is a separation from God and eternal damnation?” Mogill asked the state’s expert, then added: “In other words, they’re going to hell?”
“Without repentance, yes,” answered the expert, Canadian economist Douglas Allen, the last witness to testify on behalf of the state in a trial that could make Michigan the 18th state to legalize gay marriage.
That exchange ended testimony in the case in U.S. District Court in Detroit. The state argues that traditional marriage should remain intact, just as voters decided in 2004, when they defined marriage as being only between a man and a woman.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has insisted on defending the state's ban on same-sex marriage despite federal judges in numerous states striking down laws banning gay marriage in the past several months.
Earlier this week, one witness for the state was not allowed to testify because U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman ruled he did not possess the required expertise. The research of another star witness was denounced by his own sociology department at the University of Texas.
