WASHINGTON D.C. (WTVB) – The ban on same-sex marriages in Michigan has been overturned by today’s U.S. Supreme Court Ruling. Voters in Michigan passed a ban at the ballot box in 2004. The issue was raised again after a couple from Hazel Park wanted to adopt each other’s children. April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s law in 2012 and their case was noted in Justice Anthony Kennedy’s majority ruling today.
The state will now also recognize 300 marriages performed in 2014 after a U.S. District Court ruled the ban was unconstitutional. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder called the issue “divisive” but Michigan he said will respect the ruling of the high court. Snyder said “our state government will follow the law and our state agencies will make the necessary changes to ensure that we will fully comply.”
Snyder also called on residents to focus on the “values we share” and “move forward positively”.
