Michigan same-sex marriages ‘won’t be recognised’
By Josh Haggis
Michigan’s Governor has said that same-sex marriages that took place last weekend will not be recognised.
Governor Rick Snyder announced the news yesterday (March 26), saying that though the marriages are legal, the state won’t recognise the benefits until the stay on the same-sex marriage bill is removed, pending appeal.
Synder said: “With respect to the marriages, we believe those are legal and valid marriages. The stay being issued makes it more complicated.”
He continued: “Because of the stay, we won’t recognise the benefits of the marriage until there’s a removal of the stay,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to provide some clarity, at least from our perspective, relatively soon.”
The ban was struck down in a ruling on (March 21), when US District Judge Bernard Friedman said that the same-sex marriage ban was unfair to the children of gay couples in the state.
Around 300 couples married on Saturday (March 22) before the stay was put into place on Sunday morning (March 23). The removal of the stay could take months, though the Supreme Court will likely deal with the issue in 2015.
The ruling made Michigan the fifth state since 2014 began to overturn a ban on same-sex marriage, after Texas, Oklahoma, Utah and Virginia.