Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan announced today that the state will recognize the more than 300 same-sex marriages that occurred last year during a brief period between court rulings that brought down the state's ban on marriage equality.
From the AP:
The Republican governor said he will not appeal a federal ruling last month that the state must recognize the marriages. U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith said the marriages are valid but put on hold his decision for 21 days pending any appeal by the state.
"The judge has determined that same-sex couples were legally married on that day, and we will follow the law and extend state marriage benefits to those couples," Snyder said in a statement.
Michigan's recognition of the marriages could affect the couples' health insurance coverage and their ability to jointly adopt.
A different federal judge struck down Michigan's 2004 voter-approved gay marriage ban on March 21. Same-sex couples in four counties married the next day, before an appeals court suspended the decision and blocked additional marriages.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided to consider the legality of bans in Michigan and three other states.
Michigan is one of four states who saw their state's same-sex marriage bans upheld by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Those rulings will be reviewed by SCOTUS in April with a ruling expected in June.
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