US: Hundreds of gay Michigan couples seek recognition of their marriages

Same-sex couples in the US state of Michigan have sought a court order forcing the state to recognise their marriages.

Not long after a judge declared Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional in March, an appeals court issued a stay against the ruling.

Ruling since, US District Judge Bernard Friedman suggested that upholding a ban on same-sex marriage would be unfair to the children of gay couples, and said it was unconstitutional.

However, clerks in Michigan were then told to cease issuing marriage licenses to hundreds of same-sex couples after a motion of stay once more temporarily reinstated the ban.

Hundreds of same-sex couples married in the state in the interim.

In Detroit on Thursday, a federal judge is hearing arguments in a case on whether to grant an injunction in the case.

Governor Rick Snyder says he will wait until the legal process ends, rather than recognise the marriages now.

• Nov 29 2023

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