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Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder: Gay Marriages Legally Performed, But State Won't Recognize Them

Jonathan Oosting
March 26, 2014

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder

LANSING, MI -- More than 300 same-sex couples were legally married this weekend in Michigan, according to Gov. Rick Snyder, but the state will not recognize those marriages while Attorney General Bill Schuette appeals a federal ruling that struck down a long-standing ban.

"We believe those are legal marriages and valid marriages," the Republican governor told reporters Wednesday in the state Capitol, noting that his legal team carefully reviewed the ruling.

"The stay being issued that next night really makes it more complicated."

U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman overturned Michigan's gay marriage ban on Friday evening, but the ruling was temporarily stayed -- or suspended -- the next day by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. The three-judge panel indefinitely extended the stay on Tuesday pending the outcome of Schuette's appeal.

In the 24 hours or so between Friedman's ruling and the stay, clerks in Ingham, Muskegon, Oakland and Washtenaw counties opened their doors and issued marriage licenses to some 300 same-sex couples.

Snyder said the stay essentially reinstated Michigan's constitutional provision and statutes that prohibit the state from recognizing same-sex marriages, even those performed in other states where gay marriage is legal.

"What we have here is a situation where legal marriages took place Saturday," Snyder said, "but because of the stay, the operation of law is such that we won't recognize the benefits of those marriages until there is a removal of the stay or there is an upholding of the judge's opinion by the Court of Appeals or a higher court."

That means same-sex couples legally married this weekend will not have access to state benefits, including joint adoption or income tax filings. The holding pattern could continue for some time. The Sixth Circuit has asked for legal briefs to be filed in May and June.

While Snyder has maintained that he is simply trying to follow the law, as approved by voters or interpreted by the courts, critics argue that he has failed to show leadership on what they believe is an important civil rights struggle.

"I'm absolutely offended that Gov. Snyder would continue to deny these couples the same rights, opportunities and benefits that every other legally married couple is entitled to in our state," Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing) said in a statement.

"His actions are laughable. His excuses are simply disgraceful."

Schuette filed his emergency appeal on Friday only minutes after Friedman struck down a state constitutional amendment approved by 59 percent of voters in 2004, ruling the same-sex marriage ban violated the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law.

"Michigan voters enshrined that decision in our state constitution, and their will should stand and be respected," Schuette said upon filing. "I will continue to carry out my duty to protect and defend the constitution."

Snyder said he did not advise Schuette to file the appeal and has not been personally involved in the legal battle. He is the primary defendant because of his job title and has not sought to remove his name from the case.

"I'm not spending my time on the appeal nor did I spend my time on the lawsuit," Snyder said. "I'm spending my time on the implementation of what the law is."

There's still a possibility that the couples married Saturday will qualify for federal benefits. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced in January that the federal government would recognize marriages performed in Utah before the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay on a lower court ruling there.

Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum and East Lansing Mayor Nathan Triplett have written Holder and requested the same federal acknowledgment of marriages performed this weekend in Michigan.