[JURIST] The Michigan Supreme Court ruled [PDF text] Wednesday that governments and universities may not provide health benefits for same-sex partners of their employees. The 5-2 ruling interpreted a 2004 state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage [text] to mean that same-sex couples are to be denied any of the benefits of marriage as well. The suit [background materials] involved 21 families represented by the ACLU of Michigan.

The case, National Pride at Work v. Granholm, attracted the attention of gay-rights activists [GLAAD press release] who urged people to attend last November's oral arguments. Proponents of the constitutional amendment see the decision as a victory [TMLC press release]. AP has more.