Obama administration to recognize same-sex marriages in Michigan
Source: Washington Post
Obama administration to recognize same-sex marriages in Michigan
By Sari Horwitz, Friday, March 28, 10:02 AM
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Friday intervened in another state legal battle over gay marriage, announcing that the federal government would recognize same-sex marriages that were recently held in Michigan.
Three-hundred same-sex couples married in Michigan over the weekend before a federal district court granted a stay to stop the weddings from being performed. Democrats in Michigans 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.
Holder took similar action in January when he announced that the federal government recognized more than 1,300 marriages of same-sex couples in Utah that took place in December. The Supreme Court in January halted the same-sex marriages by staying a decision by a U.S. district judge, who ruled that Utahs ban on same-sex marriage violated the Constitution.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-administration-to-recognize-same-sex-marriages-in-michigan/2014/03/28/9ad9fb76-b678-11e3-b84e-897d3d12b816_story.html