Appeals Court Extends Stay On Michigan Gay Marriage Ruling
- By
- Carlos Santoscoy
- | March 26, 2014
A federal appeals court on Tuesday extended a temporary hold on a federal judge's ruling that struck down Michigan's ban on gay marriage.
Hundreds of gay and lesbian couples rushed to marry on Saturday, a day after U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman struck down Michigan's 2004 voter-approved constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples.
Roughly 300 couples married in 4 counties before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati issued a temporary injunction.
In extending its stay, the appeals court cited the Supreme Court's granting of a stay in a case challenging Utah's restrictive marriage amendment.
“In light of the Supreme Court's issuance of a stay in a similar case, Herbert v. Kitchen … a stay of the district court's order is warranted,” the court ruled.
(Related: Michigan: $40K for anti-equality experts whose testimony was deemed “unbelievable.”)