The state of Michigan will not recognize the more than 300 same-sex marriages performed last weekend. Governor Rick Snyder’s announcement comes one day after an appeals court indefinitely stopped any additional same-sex marriages, while it reviews a decision that struck down a 2004 law that says marriage only is between a man and a woman.
The Detroit Free Press quotes the governor as saying, “With respect to the marriages, we believe those are legal and valid marriages. The stay being issued makes it more complicated. Because of the stay, we won’t recognize the benefits of the marriage until there’s a removal of the stay.”
In a 2-1 decision yesterday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the State of Michigan’s request for a stay of last week’s district court ruling that Michigan’s ban on same sex marriage violates the U.S. Constitution, with the majority deferring to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to issue a stay in a similar case out of Utah. Thus, no new same-sex marriages will take place while the Sixth Circuit considers the case.
Click here for our previous blog on DeBoer v. Snyder.
For more information regarding the potential impact these proceedings could have on your benefit plans, please contact attorney Elizabeth H. Latchana at 517.377.0826 or elatchana@fraserlawfirm.com, or attorney Brian Gallagher at 517.377.0886 or bgallagher@fraserlawfirm.com.