Marquette, MI – (Great Lakes Radio News) – Governor Rick Snyder says that the 300 or so same-sex marriages that took place in four counties last weekend are legal, however they won’t be recognized by the state.
The marriages took place after U.S. district Judge Bernard Friedman struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriages and before a stay was issued on that ruling.
However, while the governor has ruled the marriages legal, they will not be recognized by the state for things like state employee benefits, saying in a statement “the rights tied to the marriages are suspended until the stay is lifted or Judge Friedman’s decision is upheld on appeal.”
The governor emphasized however that “the couples with certificates of marriage from Michigan courthouses last Saturday were legally married and the marriage was valid when entered into.”
