Gay rights groups are cheering a
federal judge's ruling declaring Michigan's ban on gay marriage
invalid.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Bernard
Friedman struck down the ban following a two-week trial that ended on
March 7. In his 31-page ruling, Friedman said the ban violated the
Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S.
Constitution.
(Related: Michigan's
ban on gay marriage struck down.)
The ruling was released after county
clerk offices, which issue marriage licenses, had closed for the
weekend. The AP reported that Attorney General Bill Schuette was
preparing to ask the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati to
suspend Friedman's decision as the state pursues an appeal.
Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to
Marry, applauded Friedman's ruling.
“The discriminatory ban is untrue to
Michigan’s – and America’s – values, and the judge was right
to strike it down,” Wolfson said in an emailed statement. “It’s
time that all committed couples in Michigan be treated with respect
and dignity under the law, fully able to share in the freedom to
marry and the responsibilities and protections marriage brings.
Today’s win comes after a full trial – complete with prosecutors
and defendants, witness cross-examinations, and testimony from family
experts on the well-being of children – which showed that opponents
have nothing more than the same bogus claims they have recycled for
decades. They were simply unable to provide a single legitimate
reason why committed same-sex couples should be excluded from
marriage. Michigan, like all of America, is ready for the freedom to
marry.”