While laws on unmarried cohabitation may have the effect of outlawing common law marriage, Michigan went a step further. http://www.michiganlegislature.org/mileg.a...t&objName=mcl-551-2

A new consolidated Super-DMCA blog: http://www.peoplesright.org/efnet/

From the Chronicle of Higher Education:

<http://chronicle.com/free/2003/04/2003042301t.htm>;

Jack Bernard, a lawyer for the university, says he is trying to find out what the law means and how it may affect steganographic research. "I see no reason to panic about this," he says.

Mike Wendland has reported on this:

http://www.freep.com/money/tech/mwend25_20030425.htm

Critics of Public Act 672, which was signed into law Dec. 30 by former Gov. John Engler, claim legislators were pressured by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) into accepting changes to the state's telecommunications law that could prohibit people from having firewall protections on their home computers or from using things like Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), a popular way many workers use to connect from home to the computer system back at the office.

"That is not the intent at all," said state Rep. James Koetje, R-Walker, the sponsor of the update. "These people either haven't read the bill or have misunderstood it. All the new wording does is prohibit attempts to defraud, or unlawful use of electronic devices."

Edited by author 04-24-2003 10:19 PM
Living together as a couple without being married has been illegal in Michigan for a century and a half, so the domestic partner legislation was written in full awareness of that.

Of course this law doesn't belong on the books (let alone being updated with greater penalties), but I doubt there has been any prosecution for cohabitation in at least half a century.

Larry, how does this living together being illegal (yipes) part square with city domestic partnership legislation? Ann Arbor at least provides benefits for unmarried domestic partners, if domestic partnership outside of marriage is illegal then what.

Also, I'm working with some of the folks that successfully fought the Texas DMCA law to organize opposition to those bills where they pop up through the help of the ACLU and the EFF. Will post details here on the time and coordinates of online organizing meetings.

The penalty was raised to $1,000 from $500. In theory, the police could "swoop in," yes, but that is very unlikely.

Operationally, the effect of this law is to ban common-law marriage in Michigan. In other states, a couple who lives together as married for X number of years becomes presumed married, for purposes of inheritance, etc. But not in Michigan, because the living together part is illegal.

What does the penalty for "unmarried cohabitation" now become? Does someone have to file a complaint, or can the police just swoop in and nab people? When was the new law's predecessor last enforced?