Snyder: State won't appeal court decision

Gov. Rick Snyder said last week he will not appeal U.S. District Court Judge Mark Goldsmith’s ruling recognizing the validity of the approximately 300 same-sex couples married in four counties of Michigan last March 22.

“The judge has determined that same-sex couples were legally married on that day, and we will follow the law and extend state marriage benefits to those couples,” Snyder said in a statement.

“I appreciate that the larger question will be addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court this year,” he said. “This is an issue that has been divisive across our country.

Our nation’s highest court will decide this issue.”

Snyder said he knows “there are strong feelings on both sides of this issue, and it’s vitally important for an expedient resolution that will allow people in Michigan, as well as other states, to move forward together on the other challenges we face.”

The weddings took place the day after U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman struck down Michigan’s voter-approved ban on gay marriages but the decision was stayed by a federal appeals court panel.