UPDATE 5:45 pm: Our Capitol Bureau chief reports the 6th Circuit has now issued a stay in the same-sex marriage case until Wednesday. That basically stops counties from issuing more marriage licenses until at least that time. The ruling is a change from signals earlier in the day.
UPDATE 4:45pm: The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals will not issue a stay this weekend on the decision to strike down Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage, and weddings will be allowed to continue until at least noon Tuesday. That's the deadline for the plaintiffs to respond to Attorney General Bill Schuette's request for a stay.
Grand Traverse County says it will be ready to issue marriage licenses early Monday.
Michigan’s first same-sex wedding ceremony was performed today (Saturday) at 8:05 am at the Ingham County Courthouse. That’s after a federal court ruling late Friday. Ceremonies are likely to continue for gay and lesbian couples in some counties today unless an appeals court issues an order to delay a court ruling.
That ruling late Friday from U.S. District Court Judge Bernard Friedman in Detroit says Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
Ruling: Immediate Reaction
“OK, first off—who brought the Kleenex? Because I need one…”
That’s April DeBoer, who with her partner Jayne Rowse successfully sued the state of Michigan to overturn the same-sex marriage ban in the state constitution. There were cheers, hugs, and tears as they greeted supporters and reporters at Affirmations, an LGBT community center in Ferndale. DeBoer was asked about the couple’s plans.
“Jayne and I, we’re going to get married when we can stay married and that is the answer to that question … when we can stay married,” says DeBoer.
That question persists despite a court decision that rejected pretty much every argument the state made to defend the amendment approved by almost 60 percent of Michigan voters 10 years ago. Judge Friedman called the state’s lead witness, Mark Regnerus, “entirely unbelievable.” Regnerus is the author of a controversial and widely debunked sociological study that found children raised in households led by same-sex couples fare worse than children raised by married, biological parents. Rather, Friedman said, more than 150 studies suggest no scientific basis to conclude that children raised by same-sex parents fare worse than those raised by heterosexual parents.
That was key to this case because DeBoer and Rowse said the marriage ban violated the civil rights of three special needs kids they’re raising together and would like to jointly adopt.
The Court Appeal
There is still a question about if and when DeBoer and Rowse and other same-sex couples can get married. That’s because Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette wasted no time asking the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinatti to issue a stay.
“We filed an emergency motion and we’re hopeful they’ll review it as soon as possible,” says Joy Yearout, Bill Schuette’s communications director. She says the attorney general believes Michigan voters have already spoken on the question of same-sex marriage.
“They decided this because moms and dads are not interchangeable,” Yearout says. “The Michigan voters enshrined that decision in the state constitution and it’s Attorney General Schuette’s belief that their will should stand and be respected.”
Some county clerks have made arrangements to open today to issue marriage licenses and will waive the three-day waiting period. Others are waiting to see what the Sixth Circuit might do before deciding whether to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples when they open their doors Monday morning.
An American Indian tribe in Harbor Springs began issuing same-sex marriage licenses last March.
