Obama administration to recognize same-sex marriages in Michigan

WASHINGTON - Attorney General Eric H. Holder on Friday intervened in another state legal battle over gay marriage, announcing that the federal government would recognize same-sex marriages that were recently performed in Michigan.

Three-hundred same-sex couples married in Michigan over the weekend before a federal appeals court granted a stay to stop the weddings from being performed.

Democrats in Michigan's congressional delegation, led by Rep. Dan Kildee, had called on Holder to recognize the marriages as legal under federal law.

"I have determined that the same-sex marriages performed last Saturday in Michigan will be recognized by the federal government," Holder said in a statement Friday morning. "These families will be eligible for all relevant federal benefits on the same terms as other same-sex marriages."

U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage.

But on Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit announced in a 2-to-1 decision that it had placed an indefinite stay on the marriages pending appeal.

Michigan's Republican governor, Rick Snyder, said that while Michigan recognizes the marriages as legal, the state will not give the same-sex couples state benefits unless the court's stay is lifted.

"The Governor of Michigan has made clear that the marriages that took place on Saturday were lawful and valid when entered into, although Michigan will not extend state rights and benefits tied to these marriages pending further legal proceedings," Holder said. "For purposes of federal law, as I announced in January with respect to similarly situated same-sex couples in Utah, these Michigan couples will not be asked to wait for further resolution in the courts before they may seek federal benefits to which they are entitled."