The College Fix

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled that the ban on Affirmative Action, passed by Michigan voters in 2006, is unconstitutional.

The 2006 ballot initiative banned affirmative action in university admissions and government contracting and hiring. Lawyers said today’s opinion struck down only what they described as the most significant piece, dealing with university admissions.

“Ensuring a fair political process is nowhere more important than in education,” the court said…

Proposal 2, the 2006 ballot initiative, was pushed by Jennifer Gratz, who was earlier denied admission to the University of Michigan, and by Ward Connerly, a former University of California regent who backed a similar voter initiative in that state. Michigan voters approved the ban 58%-42%.

Gratz, who now lives in Florida, said she’s confident the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case.

“The people of Michigan overwhelmingly voted in favor of equality, and the 6th Circuit, with all due respect, does not have the right to determine that equality is not constitutional in Michigan,” she said in a telephone interview.

Gratz’s name is cited in the influential 2003 Supreme Court decision Gratz v. Bollinger, in which the high court ruled that points-based racial preferences in college admissions are unconstitutional.

On her Facebook page Gratz posted the following statement: “The court has given me a clear mission: I must re-engage in the fight to guarantee fair and equal treatment for all. The court has no right to overturn the will of the people and decide that equality is unconstitutional.”

Read the full story on today’s appeals court decision here.

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