Michigan's ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional, a federal judge said Friday, striking down a law that was widely embraced by voters a decade ago in the latest in a series of similar decisions across the country, according to Reuters.
Unlike cases in other states, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman did not suspend his decision while the Michigan attorney general pursues an appeal, Reuters reported. That means clerks could start issuing licenses Monday unless a higher court intervenes.
Friedman released his 31-page ruling exactly two weeks after a rare trial that mostly focused on the impact of same-sex parenting on children, according to Reuters. The challenge was brought by two Detroit-area nurses originally seeking to overturn Michigan's ban on joint adoptions by gay couples.
"Many Michigan residents have religious convictions whose principles govern the conduct of their daily lives and inform their own viewpoints about marriage," Friedman said, Reuters reported. "Nonetheless, these views cannot strip other citizens of the guarantees of equal protection under the law."
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia issue licenses for same-sex marriage, according to Reuters. Since December, bans on gay marriage have been overturned in Texas, Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia, but appeals have put those cases on hold.
Attorney General Bill Schuette, a Republican, asked a federal appeals court to freeze Friedman's decision and prevent same-sex couples from marrying while he appeals the case, Reuters reported.
The women who brought the 2012 lawsuit, Jayne Rowse and April DeBoer, are raising three adopted children with special needs at their Hazel Park home, according to Reuters. They can't jointly adopt each other's children because that is tied exclusively to marriage in Michigan.
"It's unbelievable," DeBoer said, Reuters reported. "We got our day in court. We won."
