Update: An appellate court issued a stay on this decision late on Saturday, delaying the effects of the decision until Wednesday.
After two weeks of trail, Michigan has joined 17 other states in allowing same-sex couples the right of marriage.
Federal Judge Bernard Friedman ruled Friday evening the ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional.
In Judge Friedman’s documented conclusion, he stated, “In attempting to define this case a challenge to “the will of the people,” state defendants lost sight of what this case is truly about: the people.”
Judge Friedman also went on to describe how hard the plaintiffs had to fight for their rights.
“No court record of this proceeding could ever fully convey the personal sacrifice of these two plaintiffs who seek to ensure that the state may no longer impair the rights of their children and the thousands of others now being raised by same sex couples.”
This particular case came about two years ago when plaintiffs April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse filed a lawsuit against the state.
The plaintiffs were seeking an order that section 24 of the Michigan Adoption Code and the Michigan Marriage Amendment were unconstitutional for preventing them from jointly adopting their respective children.
Although the state immediately filed for an appeal, Judge Friedman did not issue a stay on this ruling.
Without a stay on the ruling, same-sex couples are free to marry while the state works on their appeal.
Due to the timing of the decision, city clerk’s offices closed at 4 p.m. Friday, however, many offices such as Oakland County opened Saturday morning to proceed with same-sex marriages.
