The backstory to the case is that Michigan enacted a law in 2015 protecting right-of-conscience from agencies with State contracts. But last year, Dana Nessel---a Lesbian and homosexual activist---was elected Attorney-General. Nessel had vowed during the campaign not to enforce the law; and entered into an illegal agreement with the ACLU to suspend contracts with faith-based institutions. As an interesting side-note, Nessel was part of that same cabal of activist attorneys who were a few years ago locking up officials who wouldn't enforce the homosexual 'marriage' law.
St. Vincent Catholic Charities of Lansing sued the State. St Vincent's holds a contract with the State to maintain foster-care and adoption services, but refuses to farm out children and teens to homosexual households. Yesterday, Judge Robert Jonker handed down a decision in favor of St. Vincent's, issued an injunction against State interference with such contracts, and gave a severe dressing-down in public to the arrogant Nessel.
In a 32-page Jonker concluded by stating: "Nessel’s 2018 campaign and her statements as attorney general create a strong inference that the State’s real target is the religious beliefs and confessions of St. Vincent, and not discriminatory conduct. Moreover, she sought to terminate the state’s contract simply because St. Vincent adheres to its sincerely held religious belief that marriage is an institution created by God to join a single man to a single woman. Furthermore, this strongly suggests that the State’s real goal is not to promote non-discriminatory child placements, but to stamp out St. Vincent’s religious belief and replace it with a State-orthodoxy test that prevents Catholic believers from participating. All of this supports a strong inference that St. Vincent was targeted based on its religious belief, and that it was Defendant Nessel who targeted it.”
Who would ever have imagined just a few years ago that we'd hear such words coming from a Federal Judge again? Actually a judge more concerned with law than with Political Correctness? Yes and yes: "Nessel’s policy," Judge Jonker concluded,"would flout the letter and stated intention of the Michigan legislature; and actually undermines the state’s stated goals of preventing discriminatory conduct and maximizing available placements for children.”
Judge Robert Jonker is a life-long native of Michigan with a distinguished legal background. After graduating the University of Michigan Law School in 1985, he ran a successful legal firm for 20 years until being appointed to the Federal Bench by former President Bush in 2007. In 2015, he became Chief Justice of Michigan's Western District Federal Court.
Let's give up a round of applause for Judge Robert Jonker:
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