--- description: A federal judge struck down Michigan’s ban on gay and lesbian marriage Friday. title: Gay Marriage Ban in Michigan Struck Down by Federal Judge image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt827f57d0c20133ce/698686b355a85971b4a7fda3/4b4c2128d20e4bd7ac4acc4f2664f635-0.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Michigan's Gay Marriage Ban Struck Down by Federal Judge  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 21, 2014 10:09 PM CUT  In this March 5, 2013, file photo, April DeBoer, left, and Jayne Rowse pose at their home in Hazel Park, Mich. The two nurses who've been partners for eight years claimed the ban violated their rights under the U.S. Constitution. In this March 5, 2013, file photo, April DeBoer, left, and Jayne Rowse pose at their home in Hazel Park, Mich. The two nurses who've been partners for eight years claimed the ban violated their rights under the U.S. Constitution.Paul Sancy—AP  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 21, 2014 10:09 PM CUT A federal judge Friday [struck down Michigan’s ban ](http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140321/POLITICS02/303210110/Judge-overturns-bans-gay-marriage-adoption-Mich- "undefined")on gay and lesbian marriage, paving the way for the state to become the 18th in the nation to allow same-sex matrimony, the Detroit _News_ reports. Judge Bernard Friedman did not allow for a waiting period to give the state time to appeal or implement the ruling, and couples are expected to receive marriage licenses from county clerks offices as soon as they open Monday morning. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said he would file an emergency request for a stay pending an appeal. During the trial, the state called for the judge to respect the decision of voters in 2004 approving the ban. The judiciary has overturned gay marriage bans in four other states since December—Texas, Utah, Oklahoma and Virgian—but appeals have put each of those cases on hold, [according](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/judge-strikes-down-michigans-ban-gay-marriage "undefined") to the AP. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples. \[[Detroit _News_](http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140321/POLITICS02/303210110/Judge-overturns-bans-gay-marriage-adoption-Mich- "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/34143/michigans-gay-marriage-ban-struck-down-by-federal-judge/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/34143/michigans-gay-marriage-ban-struck-down-by-federal-judge/"},"headline":"Michigan's Gay Marriage Ban Struck Down by Federal Judge","datePublished":"2014-03-21T22:09:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:54:26.766Z","description":"A federal has judge struck down Michigan’s gay marriage ban that was approved by voters in 2004. The decision paves the way for same-sex unions in the state barring an emergency hold on the judge's ruling","url":"https://time.com/34143/michigans-gay-marriage-ban-struck-down-by-federal-judge/","keywords":["Gay Rights"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt827f57d0c20133ce/698686b355a85971b4a7fda3/4b4c2128d20e4bd7ac4acc4f2664f635-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt827f57d0c20133ce/698686b355a85971b4a7fda3/4b4c2128d20e4bd7ac4acc4f2664f635-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"April DeBoer, Jayne Rowse","caption":"April DeBoer, Jayne Rowse","creditText":"Paul Sancy—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/34143/michigans-gay-marriage-ban-struck-down-by-federal-judge/","name":"Michigan's Gay Marriage Ban Struck Down by Federal Judge"}}]}] ```