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Same-sex couples get their marriage licenses at the Oakland County Courthouse on Saturday, March 22, in Pontiac, Michigan, a day after a federal judge overturned Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage.
Jayne Rowse, left, speaks as April DeBoer kisses her shoulder during a news conference in Ferndale, Michigan, on Friday, March 21. A federal judge struck down Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage on Friday after the two nurses, who have been partners for eight years, claimed the ban violated their rights under the U.S. Constitution. It's the latest in a series of decisions overturning similar laws across the country.
Utah state Sen. Jim Dabakis, left, and Stephen Justesen acknowledge the crowd after being married in Salt Lake City on Friday, December 20. A federal judge struck down Utah's ban on same-sex marriage, saying it conflicted with the constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process. Many Utah counties began issuing marriage licenses before the state appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court temporarily blocked enforcement of the lower court ruling until the constitutional questions are fully resolved.
Plaintiffs Laurie Wood, left, and Kody Partridge, center, and their attorney Peggy Tomsic leave a federal courthouse in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, December 4, where a judge heard arguments challenging Utah's same-sex marriage ban.
Hawaiian Gov. Neil Abercrombie, left, and former Sen. Avery Chumley hold up a copy of the Star Advertiser after Abercrombie signed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in Hawaii on Wednesday, November 13, in Honolulu. Hawaii's same-sex marriage debate began in 1990 when two women applied for a marriage license, leading to a court battle and a 1993 state Supreme Court decision that said their rights to equal protection were violated by not letting them marry. Now the state is positioning itself for an increase in tourism as visitors arrive to take advantage of the new law, which took effect December 2.
Cory Booker, then-Newark mayor, officiates a wedding ceremony for Joseph Panessidi and Orville Bell at City Hall early Monday, October 21, 2013. The New Jersey Supreme Court denied the state's request to prevent same-sex marriages temporarily, clearing the way for same-sex couples to marry in the state on October 21.
A couple celebrate at San Francisco City Hall upon hearing about the U.S. Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage on June 26, 2013. The high court cleared the way for same-sex couples in California to resume marrying after dismissing an appeal on Proposition 8 on jurisdictional grounds. In another ruling June 26, the justices threw out part of a law that denied hundreds of federal benefits to married same-sex couples.
In the other June 26 ruling, the Supreme Court struck down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 federal law defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Jamous Lizotte, right, and Steven Jones pose for photos while waiting for a marriage license in Portland, Maine, in December 2012.
Rhode Island state Sen. Donna Nesselbush, right, embraces a supporter after the Marriage Equality Act gets signed into law at the statehouse in Providence on May 2, 2013.
At the state Capitol in St. Paul on May 14, 2013, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signs a bill legalizing same-sex marriage.
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell holds up legislation on May 7, 2013, allowing same-sex couples to wed.
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire celebrates after signing marriage equality legislation into law earlier in 2013. Voters there approved same-sex marriage on Election Day 2012.
Olin Burkhart, left, and Carl Burkhart kiss on the steps of the New Hampshire Capitol in Concord in January 2010 as the state's law allowing same-sex marriage goes into effect.
In 2010, television reporter Roby Chavez, right, shares a moment with gay rights activist Frank Kameny during Chavez and Chris Roe's wedding ceremony in the nation's capital.
Phyllis Siegel, 76, kisses her wife, Connie Kopelov, 84, after exchanging vows at the Manhattan City Clerk's office in 2011.
Michael Miller, left, and Ross Zachs marry on the West Hartford Town Hall steps after same-sex marriages became legal in Connecticut in 2008.
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, center, shakes hands with Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller after signing a same-sex marriage bill. The law was challenged, but voters approved marriage equality in a November 2012 referendum.
Lara Ramsey, left, and her partner of eight years, Jane Lohmann, play with their 7-month-old son, Wyatt Ramsey-Lohmann. The two wed in 2004 after Massachusetts approved same-sex marriage.
Beth Robinson of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force was among those who fought for marriage equality in Vermont in 2009.
Amy Klein-Matheny, left, and her wife, Jennifer, were married in 2009 in Iowa after same-sex couples were allowed to marry there after a court ruling.
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(CNN) -- The weddings have happened -- but will they count?
A day after a federal judge struck down a Michigan state amendment restricting marriage to between one man and one woman, gay and lesbian couples lined up Saturday to make their unions official.
"We never thought that we'd see this day," said Ann Watson, who wed her partner of more than 23 years. "In that sense, it's amazing."
Watson -- who works for Turner Broadcasting System, an entity that includes CNN -- and her partner were one of 57 couples to get same-sex marriage licenses in Ingham County, according to county clerk Barb Byrum.
Byrum, a Democrat elected to the county clerk post, said that she personally performed 30 ceremonies in Mason.
"Today was an awesome day," <a href="http://ift.tt/1gqlhgF; target="_blank">Byrum tweeted.
Susan Sherman, Minister Nic Cable, the couple's daughter Sarah Sherman, and Ann Watson celebrate.
Not all county clerks followed suit by taking the abnormal step of opening up their offices on a weekend. But there were a few others, such as in Oakland County, according to CNN affiliate WDIV.
There, in Pontiac, Frank Colasonti and James Ryder arrived early for the chance to marry after 26 years together.
Colasonti told WDIV that "we wanted to get married as soon as possible" in the wake of the court ruling issued late Friday afternoon. Their motivation was simple: "We love each other, and we want to make sure that we protect each other."
As to being among the first gay couples married in Michigan, Colasonti said, "It's historic, and we're glad we're a part of it. And we are just happy."
There's a chance that their marriage could be among the last, too.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, a Republican whose term expires later this year, announced on Friday evening he'd filed an emergency request for U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman's order to be stayed and appealed.
"In 2004, the citizens of Michigan recognized that diversity in parenting is best for kids and families because moms and dads are not interchangeable," Schuette said. "Michigan voters enshrined that decision in our state constitution, and their will should stand and be respected."
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued an order Saturday to temporarily stay through at least Wednesday the decision by Friedman. In its brief order, the court explained that it did so "to allow a more reasoned consideration of the motion to stay."
Earlier, the same court had said that those opposed to Schuette's request have until noon Tuesday to respond.
It's not immediately clear what will happen, then, with the same-sex marriages that took place earlier Saturday.
Watson said she isn't surprised by the stay and is bracing for the idea she and Sherman won't immediately have full benefits available to them in Michigan -- though she expects that, at least, they'll now have federal benefits available to marriage same-sex couples.
"It is what we expected," Watson said. "We know that we are on the right side of history."
In fact, Friedman's ruling was the latest in a series of recent district judge decisions -- which have also affected Texas, Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Utah -- striking down state laws restricting marriage to one man and one woman. Judges later issued stays of those decisions until higher courts weigh in.
Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond's law school, explained that appellate judges must weigh in on all these cases. The Supreme Court likely won't add its input until its next term, which starts in October. Still, the trend in the courts -- which also happens to mirror that in public opinion polls -- so far is clear.
"It's all in one direction right now," Tobias said.
Regardless of the fact her situation is in limbo, Watson and her partner are celebrating, nonetheless. They have family members expressing joy and solidarity along with them, such as a brother-in-law who noted the two are finally "acting out what's been in place for years."
But most importantly, they have their 16-year-old daughter to savor the moment with -- who they were able to jointly adopt years ago in Georgia and who was at her parents' wedding ceremony in Mason.
"She's excited about it," Watson said.
CNN's Bill Mears contributed to this report
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- NEW: Woman married in Michigan says she expected the stay
- Gay, lesbian couples marry for the first time in Michigan
- Ingham County issue such licenses for 57 couples, its clerk says
- Appeals court temporarily stays the decision to end same-sex marriage ban
(CNN) -- The weddings have happened -- but will they count?
A day after a federal judge struck down a Michigan state amendment restricting marriage to between one man and one woman, gay and lesbian couples lined up Saturday to make their unions official.
"We never thought that we'd see this day," said Ann Watson, who wed her partner of more than 23 years. "In that sense, it's amazing."
Watson -- who works for Turner Broadcasting System, an entity that includes CNN -- and her partner were one of 57 couples to get same-sex marriage licenses in Ingham County, according to county clerk Barb Byrum.
Byrum, a Democrat elected to the county clerk post, said that she personally performed 30 ceremonies in Mason.
"Today was an awesome day," <a href="http://ift.tt/1gqlhgF; target="_blank">Byrum tweeted.
Susan Sherman, Minister Nic Cable, the couple's daughter Sarah Sherman, and Ann Watson celebrate.
Not all county clerks followed suit by taking the abnormal step of opening up their offices on a weekend. But there were a few others, such as in Oakland County, according to CNN affiliate WDIV.
There, in Pontiac, Frank Colasonti and James Ryder arrived early for the chance to marry after 26 years together.
Colasonti told WDIV that "we wanted to get married as soon as possible" in the wake of the court ruling issued late Friday afternoon. Their motivation was simple: "We love each other, and we want to make sure that we protect each other."
As to being among the first gay couples married in Michigan, Colasonti said, "It's historic, and we're glad we're a part of it. And we are just happy."
There's a chance that their marriage could be among the last, too.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, a Republican whose term expires later this year, announced on Friday evening he'd filed an emergency request for U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman's order to be stayed and appealed.
"In 2004, the citizens of Michigan recognized that diversity in parenting is best for kids and families because moms and dads are not interchangeable," Schuette said. "Michigan voters enshrined that decision in our state constitution, and their will should stand and be respected."
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued an order Saturday to temporarily stay through at least Wednesday the decision by Friedman. In its brief order, the court explained that it did so "to allow a more reasoned consideration of the motion to stay."
Earlier, the same court had said that those opposed to Schuette's request have until noon Tuesday to respond.
It's not immediately clear what will happen, then, with the same-sex marriages that took place earlier Saturday.
Watson said she isn't surprised by the stay and is bracing for the idea she and Sherman won't immediately have full benefits available to them in Michigan -- though she expects that, at least, they'll now have federal benefits available to marriage same-sex couples.
"It is what we expected," Watson said. "We know that we are on the right side of history."
In fact, Friedman's ruling was the latest in a series of recent district judge decisions -- which have also affected Texas, Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Utah -- striking down state laws restricting marriage to one man and one woman. Judges later issued stays of those decisions until higher courts weigh in.
Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond's law school, explained that appellate judges must weigh in on all these cases. The Supreme Court likely won't add its input until its next term, which starts in October. Still, the trend in the courts -- which also happens to mirror that in public opinion polls -- so far is clear.
"It's all in one direction right now," Tobias said.
Regardless of the fact her situation is in limbo, Watson and her partner are celebrating, nonetheless. They have family members expressing joy and solidarity along with them, such as a brother-in-law who noted the two are finally "acting out what's been in place for years."
But most importantly, they have their 16-year-old daughter to savor the moment with -- who they were able to jointly adopt years ago in Georgia and who was at her parents' wedding ceremony in Mason.
"She's excited about it," Watson said.
CNN's Bill Mears contributed to this report
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