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Michigan Same-Sex Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional

From left, April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse with DeBoer's attorney Dana Nessel enter Federal Court in Detroit, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014 before a trial that could overturn Michigan's ban on gay marriage. Gay couples poised ... From left, April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse with DeBoer's attorney Dana Nessel enter Federal Court in Detroit, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014 before a trial that could overturn Michigan's ban on gay marriage. Gay couples poised for a favorable ruling last fall had lined up for licenses at county offices across Michigan, only to be stunned when U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman said he wanted to hear testimony from experts. The case began in 2012 when nurses Rowse, 49, and DeBoer, 42, of Hazel Park sued to try to upset a Michigan law that bars them from adopting each other's children. But the case became even more significant when Friedman invited them to add the same-sex marriage ban to their lawsuit. They argue that Michigan's constitutional amendment, approved by voters in 2004, violates the U.S. Constitution's Equal Protection Clause, which forbids states from treating people differently under the law. (AP Photo/Detroit News, Daniel Mears) DETROIT FREE PRESS OUT; HUFFINGTON POST OUT MORE LESS
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March 21, 2014 5:14 p.m.
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A federal judge in Michigan on Friday ruled the state’s 2004 ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, the Detroit Free Press reported:

In his ruling, Senior United States District Judge Bernard A. Friedman wrote that the ban violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Friedman’s ruling makes Michigan the 18th state plus Washington D.C. to allow same-sex marriage.

You can read the ruling, uploaded by the Detroit News, here.

This post was updated.

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