Several gay and lesbian professors at Michigan colleges have initiated a lawsuit against the state contending that the recently passed marriage amendment to the state Constitution should not be used to deny health benefits to the partners of gay employees at state institutions. Peter J. Hammer, professor of law at Wayne State University and a plaintiff in the case, said defining marriage as between a man and a woman is not inconsistent with offering domestic-partner benefits to gay and lesbian employees who have never claimed to be married. \"The state wants to use what was offered as a shield to protect marriage and turn it into a sword to deny other people benefits,\" Hammer said.