DETROIT, Mich. -- A federal judge has ordered the state of Michigan to recognize 300 marriages that were performed last year when same-sex marriage was briefly allowed in the state.
Judge Mark A. Goldsmith has ruled that failing to recognize the marriages would be a violation of the couples' 14th Amendment rights.
"In these circumstances, what the state has joined together, it may not put asunder," the ruling says.
In March 2014, a federal judge ruled in favor of April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, a Michigan couple attempting to overturn the state's ban on same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage was allowed in the state for about 24 hours before a stay was ordered and the ban was put back in place.
On Nov. 6, 2014, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the same-sex marriage bans in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. According to FOX 2, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to announce Friday if it will hear the case.
Judge Goldsmith's ruling includes a 21-day stay.
