The Family Law Section Council, State Bar of Michigan, approved the following statement at its June 5, 2004 meeting:
Today’s families come in many forms. Children are being raised by married parents, by single parents, by parents who were never married, by extended family members and by gay and lesbian parents. The common value shared by these families is love and commitment to each other. The children nurtured by these unions are tomorrow’s teachers, doctors, factory workers, leaders and parents. The Family Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan is troubled and saddened by the tone and rhetoric of the debate regarding which families are permitted to make commitments to each other. As a diverse group of lawyers practicing family law, we hold many different opinions on this topic, however, we can all agree that hate is not a family value.