Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriages remains in place. Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman chose to hold a trial in February in the case in which a lesbian couple from Hazel Park is seeking to overturn the state’s laws that prohibit same-sex couples from marrying and entering into joint adoptions. In Ingham County, Judge Friedman’s announcement left many same-sex couples jilted at the courthouse in Mason, as they were expecting him to overturn the marriage ban and pave the way for them to be legally married.
Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum was prepared to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples yesterday.
Attorney General Bill Schuette sent a letter yesterday afternoon to all the county clerks in Michigan, prohibiting the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples even if the law had been struck down. Byrum says she was prepared to issue licenses anyway.