In a historic ruling that provided a huge morale boost to the gay-rights movement, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman Friday struck down Michigan�s ban on same-sex marriage, making it the 18th state in the nation to allow gays and lesbians to join in matrimony, just like their heterosexual counterparts. 
 
 Just hours later, Washtenaw, Muskegon and Oakland counties announced they�ll open their clerk�s offices to issue marriage licenses on Saturday. 
 
 �Many Michigan residents have religious convictions whose principles govern the conduct of their daily lives and inform their own viewpoints about marriage,� Friedman wrote in his 31-page ruling. �Nonetheless, these views cannot strip other citizens of the guarantees of equal protection under the law.� 
 
 ■ PDF: Read the judge�s ruling on gay marriage 
 
 ■ Related: Questions, answers on today�s ruling 
 
 Friedman, who declared Michigan�s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, went a step further than other judges across the country who have made similar decisions. 
 
 Friedman did not stay his ruling. 
 
 That prompted Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette to file an emergency stay request to prevent gay couples from marrying right away. That includes the two plaintiffs in the case: Hazel Park nurses April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, who fought for the right to marry and adopt each other�s special needs children. 
 
 �It�s just amazing,� said DeBoer, who wiped tears and hugged her partner after learning of Friedman�s ruling. �This is what we�ve wanted for our family and families like ours �we are just so happy ... We got our day in court and we won.� 
 
 Rowse was overwhelmed. 
 
 �We�re going to actually be a legalized family, a recognized family by everybody,� she said. 
 
 In his 31-page ruling, Friedman heavily criticized the state�s position that the will of the voters should have been upheld, noting that just because voters approve something doesn�t make it right, especially when it violates the Constitution. 
 
 �In attempting to define this case as a challenge to �the will of the people,� state defendants lost sight of what this case is truly about: people. 
 
 �No court record of this proceeding could ever fully convey the personal sacrifice of these two plaintiffs who seek to ensure that the state may no longer impair the rights of their children and the thousands of others now being raised by same-sex couples,� Friedman wrote. 
 
 �It is the court�s fervent hope that these children will grow up to �understand the integrity and closeness of their own family and its concord with other families in their community and in their daily lives.� 
 
 �Today�s decision is a step in that direction, and affirms the enduring principle that regardless of whoever finds favor in the eyes of the most recent majority, the guarantee of equal protection must prevail.� 
 
 Schuette, meanwhile, vowed to continue to fight to uphold the Michigan Marriage Amendment Act, which 2.7 million voters approved in 2004 when they decided that marriage can only be defined as a union between a man and a woman. 
 
 �In 2004, the citizens of Michigan recognized that diversity in parenting is best for kids and families because moms and dads are not interchangeable. Michigan voters enshrined that decision in our state constitution, and their will should stand and be respected,� Schuette said following today�s ruling. 
 
 Schuette said he expects the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals will grant his request for a stay, noting the U.S. Supreme Court intervened in Utah�s gay-marriage case and granted that state�s request for a stay. 
 
 The state has long argued that the will of the voters should not be drowned out by a single judge. The state also argues that it has a �legitimate� interest in preserving the traditional family structure because � it claims � children thrive best when raised by married moms and dads. 
 
 Friedman, though, sided with the plaintiffs. 
 
 For DeBoer and Rowse, the case did not start out about marriage rights but about adoption rights. The two women want to adopt each others�s children � two preschool-age boys and a 4-year-old girl � but can�t because Michigan doesn�t allow same-sex couple adoptions. 
 
 Now, if Friedman�s ruling stands, they can get married and adopt each other�s children. 
 
 Unlike most federal judges who have taken up the gay-marriage issue, Friedman opted last fall to hold a trial and give both sides the chance to present their arguments and scientific evidence. 
 
 The state�s experts said that their studies show that children of same-sex couples have poorer outcomes than kids raised by married moms and dads. 
 
 Friedman didn�t find the state�s experts credible, stating in his ruling that the testimony of one state witness was �entirely unbelievable and not worthy of serious consideration.� He said the state�s four witnesses �clearly represent a fringe viewpoint that is rejected by the vast majority of their colleagues across a variety of social science fields.� 
 
 Friedman, however, said he did find the plaintiffs� experts to be credible. They said their research showed that there were no real differences in the outcomes of children raised by same-sex couples compared with those raised by moms and dads. 
 
 The plaintiffs also argued that child outcomes should have nothing to do with the marriage issue anyway, because having kids isn�t a prerequisite for getting married. 
 
 Friedman agreed. 
 
 Meanwhile, legal experts believe the gay-marriage debate ultimately will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has not yet issued a definitive ruling on same-sex marriage. 
 
 Dana Nessel, one of the lawyers for DeBoer and Rowse, said the patchwork of legislation involving same-sex marriage has led to chaos, specifically for same-sex couples who are legally recognized in one state but then move to another and have no legal recognition. It�s especially problematic come tax time, she said, noting same-sex couples, depending on where they live, have to file separately because their marriage isn�t recognized. 
 
 �This has to be resolved,� Nessel said. �This can�t continue. You can�t have this patchwork system anymore.� ||||| Detroit � A U.S. district judge has overturned Michigan�s bans on gay marriage and same-sex adoption, aligning the state with a growing number in which prohibitions have been challenged and overturned. 
 
 Judge Bernard Friedman�s decision came shortly after 5 p.m. Friday, when county clerks offices had already closed for the week. Couples seeking marriage licenses in many communities will need to wait until they reopen for business Monday. 
 
 But people in some counties, including Washtenaw, Oakland and Muskegon, will be allowed to marry today. Couples, including same-sex ones, wanting a marriage license have a chance to get one from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Washtenaw County building at 200 N. Main in Ann Arbor, Clerk Larry Kestenbaum said. 
 
 Guided by �strong urging� from county leaders, he said Friday night, the vital records office will open on a day it normally is closed for those seeking marriage licenses. 
 
 There are restrictions, though. The option is open only to pairs with at least one partner who resides in Washtenaw County and out-of-state couples who marry within its borders, Kestenbaum said. Michigan couples from outside the county must remain in their own jurisdictions, he said. 
 
 Normally, there�s a three-day waiting period for a license, with a $50 fee for those seeking a waiver for immediate processing, Kestenbaum said. But today, through a �fee holiday� arrangement by the county Board of Commissioners, it�s only 1 cent, he said. The cost to marry is $20 for local residents and $30 for others. 
 
 With a smaller staff agreeing to work today, Kestenbaum said he expected the county will be able to process about 60 marriage licenses. 
 
 �After 1 p.m., the staff will not be available,� the clerk said in a statement. �I apologize in advance to those we will have to turn away.� 
 
 Applicants will be issued a number on a first-come, first-served basis; however, same-sex couples issued a number at the office when trying to tie the knot last October are to be honored first, the clerk said. 
 
 Proper documents, including a birth certificate, are required. 
 
 Attorney General Bill Schuette immediately filed a challenge with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati and asked the court to freeze Friedman�s ruling, which would prevent clerks from issuing licenses. 
 
 Michigan joins the states of Kentucky and Ohio, which also have gay marriage cases pending before the 6th Circuit Court. 
 
 In his 31-page written opinion, Friedman said the constitutional amendment known as the Michigan Marriage Act, passed by 2.7 million state voters in 2004, was unconstitutional because it denied gays and lesbians equal protection under the law. 
 
 Attorneys for the state of Michigan, a defendant in the case, contended voters passed the amendment banning gay marriage because they wanted to keep marriage only between a man and a woman. 
 
 The judge said the disapproval of same-sex marriages didn�t matter under the eyes of the law. 
 
 �Many Michigan residents have religious convictions whose principles govern the conduct of their daily lives and inform their own viewpoints about marriage,� the judge wrote. �Nonetheless, these views cannot strip other citizens of the guarantees of equal protection under the law.� 
 
 �Voters enshrined that decision in our Michigan Constitution and their will should stand and be respected. I�ll continue my duty to protect, defend the Constitution,� Schuette said. 
 
 Since December, bans on gay marriage have been overturned in Texas, Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia, but appeals have put those cases on hold. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia issue licenses for same-sex marriage. 
 
 Macomb County Clerk Carmella Sabaugh said Friday night that if no stay is granted, her office would begin issuing marriage licenses Monday. 
 
 Making marriage plans 
 
 The ruling by Friedman stems from a lawsuit filed by Hazel Park nurses April DeBoer, 42, and Jayne Rowse, 49, who are living as a couple, raising three special-needs children they adopted as individuals. 
 
 Their lawsuit challenged the constitutionality of the laws banning gay marriage and adoption by same-sex couples. 
 
 Surrounded by a crowd of about 100 people at the Affirmations, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender advocacy organization on West Nine Mile in Ferndale, DeBoer and Rowse were obviously moved by their victory. But their enthusiasm was tempered by the news that Schuette was seeking a stay. 
 
 �We are going to get married when we can stay married,� said DeBoer. �This is a happy day. We don�t want to speculate. We want to get married when we know our marriage is going to be forever binding. 
 
 �We did this for the protection of our children,� said DeBoer of their efforts to overturn the law banning same-sex couples from adoption. �We do want to get married, but this is about our children.� 
 
 Cheering the couple on at the news conference were Jeff Perdue, 36, and Edward Ewing, 48, a couple hoping to marry. They are planning a June wedding. 
 
 �We can get married,� said Ewing Friday holding Perdue�s hand. �It�s exciting when you can get married to the person you love.� 
 
 Perdue said the ruling and the right to marry makes him feel �we�re actually recognized as humans.� 
 
 Dana Nessel, co-counsel for the plaintiffs, called Friedman�s decision �an enormous victory and a fantastic ruling.� 
 
 �It means equality for thousands and thousands of families in Michigan,� she said. 
 
 But Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan and co-author of the constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage, issued a blistering response to the ruling. 
 
 �One Detroit lawyer in a black robe doesn�t have legitimate constitutional or moral authority to overturn either natural law or the vote of 2.7 million Michigan voters who placed the Marriage Protection Amendment in our state constitution,� Glenn said. 
 
 �This one political elitist put his own personal views above the will of the people, arrogantly ruling that all 2.7 million voters were �irrational� in their common sense belief that the ideal environment for every child is having both a mother and a father committed to each other and to their children in marriage. We support Attorney General Bill Schuette in his appeal to overturn this illegitimate decision that has at least temporarily stripped Michigan citizens of the full measure and impact of their voting rights.� 
 
 In a statement released for the Michigan Catholic Conference, Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron reacted to the ruling by reiterating the church�s opposition to same-sex marriage: �As I said with my brother bishops in Michigan, marriage has come to us as a gift of God in establishing the order of nature. The Catholic community in southeast Michigan will continue to give witness to the truth that marriage is between one man and one woman, which is the foundation for the flourishing of society.� 
 
 Attitudes changing 
 
 The judge�s ruling came after a nine-day trial that began Feb. 26 and focused heavily on testimony from scholars and researchers on opposing sides of the gay marriage debate. 
 
 The trial pitted pro-gay marriage psychologists and sociologists against marriage traditionalists. The testimony on both sides was heavily laden with statistical data and research methodology. 
 
 Experts who testified on behalf of DeBoer and Rowse said their research concludes there is no difference in children raised by same-sex parents than those raised by straight couples. 
 
 The court cases are being played out as gays and lesbian relationships gain more acceptance in the United States. According to 2013 Gallup Poll, 59 percent of Americans approved of same-sex relationships, up 19 percent since 2001. 
 
 And in Michigan those favorable attitudes toward gays and lesbians also continue to grow, according to 2014 Michigan State University�s State of the State Survey. 
 
 Nearly 59 percent of Michigan adults surveyed said they were in favor of adoption by gays and lesbians, while 33 percent said they were opposed. The study also found that social attitudes among African-Americans in Michigan toward gays and lesbians have changed, with 47 percent saying they approved of gays compared to 31 percent two years ago. ||||| Fighting back tears with as many tissues as they could grab, gay and lesbian couples in several counties Saturday arrived at a moment in their lives they never thought would come � their wedding day in Michigan. 
 
 Glenna DeJong of Lansing woke up Saturday morning not expecting to marry her partner of 27 years, Marsha Caspar, until Monday, when the Ingham County�s clerk initially planned to begin marrying gay couples. Then at 6:40 a.m. Saturday, she saw a Twitter announcement from county clerk Barb Byrum announcing she would begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples at 8 a.m. 
 
 �I�ve never seen her get up so fast, especially on a weekend,� DeJong said of Caspar. �We couldn�t wait and plan. We just had to act.� 
 
 Just after 8 a.m. Saturday morning, DeJong and Caspar became the first same-sex couple in Michigan to be married following a federal judge�s ruling striking down the state�s 2004 voter-approved ban on gay marriage. 
 
 �That was devastating,� DeJong said of the 2004 ban. �To be on the other side of history right now is joyous.� 
 
 Their marriage came a day after the state�s ban on gay marriage was scratched from the state constitution by U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman, prompting couples to flood some county clerks� offices, including Ingham, Muskegon, Oakland and Washtenaw, on Saturday. Many clerks who handle marriage licenses in Michigan�s 83 counties said they would start granting them to gays and lesbians, with some starting Saturday morning. 
 
 In total, those four Michigan counties issued 323 licenses on Saturday and performed dozens of ceremonies before most clerks closed offices at 1 p.m. and before the U.S. Appeals Court for the Sixth Circuit on Saturday issued a temporary stay while directing the attorneys for the same sex couple who had sought to get married to respond to Schuette's request for an emergency stay by noon Tuesday. 
 
 In the first hour of being open, Byrum married three same-sex couples. In all Saturday, she issued 57 licenses and performed 30 ceremonies. 
 
 With the 2004 gay marriage ban struck down, Byrum said there�s no law preventing her from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, even though it was not done prior to 2004. 
 
 Late Friday night, Byrum said she would not open her office until Monday morning to begin marrying gay couples. But she changed her mind overnight and was able to get her employees to come in. 
 
 Byrum said she wanted to make marriage licenses available Saturday just in case the judge halted his decision over the weekend. Attorney General Bill Schuette also is working to get the ruling stayed in an effort to stop the marriages until he can exhaust all appeals in the federal court system. 
 
 �People have been waiting way too long already,� said Byrum, a former Democratic state representative from Onondaga. �It just made me sick that they would be waiting until Monday.� 
 
 But Saturday�s developments weren�t celebrated by all. 
 
 �This is where the Christians at some point will look back and say we should have taken a stand,� said Christine Weick, a Hopkins resident who protested every day outside the federal courthouse in Detroit during the trial over a lawsuit filed by Hazel Park nurses April DeBoer, 42, and Jayne Rowse, 49, who are living as a couple, raising three special-needs children they adopted as individuals. That case prompted Saturday�s developments. 
 
 �We�ve become complacent with God�s word. As we allow this sin to continue, it will creep into the church,� Weick said. 
 
 Couples say 'I do' 
 
 In Pontiac on Saturday, they were passing out happiness at the Oakland County Clerk's Office in the form of marriage license applications for same-sex partners wanting to get legally hitched. 
 
 In the first half hour of opening doors, 235 smiling, happy people had passed through the county turnstiles leading to the clerk's office. As of 11 a.m., there was still a steady stream of new arrivals, some with paperwork, others eager to just witness the legal marriage of friends and relatives. In total, 142 marriage licenses were issued in Oakland County on Saturday. 
 
 Some such as James Ryder, 48, and Frank Colasonti, Jr., 61, of Birmingham had lined up as early as 6 a.m., hoping to be the first to process their marriage application, to be wed and have it certified Saturday. And they were, shortly after 9 a.m. 
 
 In a tearful ceremony officiated by Oakland County Clerk Lisa Brown, the two men � who met in church over 26 years ago � wiped back tears with tissues and sealed their marriage with a kiss in a small conference room decorated with a simple vase of flowers and a singular heart-shaped balloon. The pair then walked out, hand-in-hand, into the hallway where they were greeted by loud applause and well-wishes of others waiting to process their paperwork. 
 
 "We thought about going to another country, or another state (to get married) but wanted to marry here," Colosanti said. 
 
 Brown, who also fought back tears, said her clerk�s office was handling paperwork until 1 p.m. Saturday and planned to "officiate for as many as want me to," gesturing to the line snaking down the hallway. 
 
 Oakland County Sheriff's deputies and security officers described the crowd as well-behaved. Many in line filled out their paperwork on clipboards while chatting with new friends and old. Many couples snapped photographs of each other and also of other couples in line. Several held flowers and shouted congratulations to those finalizing their applications. 
 
 Just after 9 a.m. in Ingham County, Byrum performed a brief marriage ceremony in the basement hallway of the Ingham County Courthouse for Jennifer Norman, 30, and Denise Herrera, 41, of Lansing. 
 
 The lesbian couple was joined by a half-dozen family members, who wouldn�t have been able to attend the ceremony had it been held on Monday, Norman said. 
 
 Norman said they were overjoyed by Friedman�s decision to strike down the decade-old constitutional amendment restricting marriage between men and women. 
 
 �It means we don�t have to take off and (get married) in another state,� Norman said. �We were going to do it this year whether Michigan allowed it or not.� 
 
 In West Michigan, a Unitarian Universalist church in Muskegon issued 50 wedding licenses Saturday. They started a couple of hours earlier than planned out of concern the appeals court would approve Schuette�s request for a stay. 
 
 �We�re trying to beat Bill Schuette to the punch,� said Harbor Unitarian Universalist Congregation Pastor Bill Freeman, who officiated at least eight or nine weddings. �We want to get these weddings done while they�re legal.� 
 
 The church planned to continue holding ceremonies throughout the afternoon Saturday. 
 
 Meanwhile, couples began lining up at the Washtenaw County clerk�s office in Ann Arbor at 5:30 a.m. for a chance to get marriage licenses. More than 100 couples showed up to be married, prompting the county to issue 74 licenses Saturday. 
 
 When the office opened at 9 a.m., the crowd rushed inside and numbers were called. Many family and friends held banners and gave flowers as they cried happy tears. Because of the late hour of the judge�s decision on Friday, and the even later hour that the clerk decided to open on Saturday, many families didn�t have time to gather for the ceremonies. 
 
 �It�s probably not the wedding a lot of people dreamed of, but I�ll take it,� said Wendy Rothman, who waited as her sister, Diane Van Dorn, and her sister�s partner of 17 years, Connie Greer, got their marriage license alongside their three young children. 
 
 �It�s an incredible moment in history. This will change our lives, their children�s lives and society.� 
 
 After receiving the marriage licenses from the clerk, many couples chose to go to the basement where numerous officials had turned out to marry people on the spot. 
 
 Martin Contreras and Keith Orr, owners of the \aut\ Bar in Ann Arbor and partners for 27 years, were among the first to receive a marriage license. Immediately after signing the paperwork, they went downstairs in the clerk�s office to have the ceremony. 
 
 The two held hands as the officiant blessed them and their marriage. 
 
 �I never thought it would happen in my lifetime,� said Contreras, after he and Orr kissed through tears. �It�s indescribable. I never expected we could get this far.� 
 
 Ann Arbor residents Amy McLoughlin, 41, and Callie McKee, 35, tried to get married the last time the window opened briefly. 
 
 "We were here in October, and got a number," said McLoughlin, producing a ticket with "14" on it. "So we're back today." 
 
 The pair, who've been together "6.75 years," in McLouglin's words, had hoped against hope this day would come, but weren't sure it would. "We were hopeful, but didn't think it would come this soon," McLoughlin said. 
 
 "We got a lot of discouraging messages from the state," McKee added. "It seemed even if people were behind gay marriage, the government wasn't." 
 
 Worth the wait 
 
 In Ferndale on Saturday morning, hugs and pats on the back marked the first day of legalized gay marriage in Michigan. 
 
 Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter was on hand to marry gay and lesbian couples once they received their marriage licenses from a clerk. 
 
 �We�re normally not open on Saturday,� said a smiling Coulter as he greeted Ferndale residents in the cafe at the Affirmations LGBT advocacy center. Coulter said the idea to officiate over a marriage ceremony was planned after getting tons of calls from well-wishers following Friday�s ruling by Friedman. 
 
 �Some of these couples waited for many years to get married,� said Coulter on Saturday. �I wanted to be able to honor this commitment and assist them.� 
 
 Coulter said he was watching developments closely in case there was an emergency stay on Friedman�s ruling. 
 
 Southfield City Councilman Ken Siver married his longtime beau, Zack Ismai, 40. Siver, 68, carried flowers and the couple traded rings in the brief ceremony witnessed by a small group of about 40 onlookers gathered to watch same-sex couples exchange vows at the Affirmations LGBT advocacy center on Nine Mile Road. 
 
 Coulter said a Native American prayer as he joined Siver and Ismail in marriage. 
 
 �It�s really just a matter of equality,� said Siver on Saturday, following the brief civil ceremony after he was legally married. �We�re all just people and love is a beautiful thing and something that is to be celebrated.� 
 
 Ismail said he was happy the day came when he and Siver could be legally married. 
 
 �It�s one of the happiest days,� said Ismail, a trauma nurse who also is studying nursing anesthesiology. �I�m glad we�re legal.� 
 
 Shortly after Siver and Ismail said their vows, Brent Gonzalez, a transgender male, and Jessica Holmes, both 29, said their �I dos.� 
 
 �We�re happy about the new law,� said Holmes, following the quick ceremony. 
 
 The Royal Oak couple said they were surprised the ban was lifted. 
 
 �I thought we (the state of Michigan) would be one of the last,� Gonzalez said.
– A big court ruling this afternoon sets up Michigan to become the 18th state to allow gay marriage. A federal court judge struck down the state's 2004 ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional, reports the Detroit Free Press. The judge sided with lesbian plaintiffs April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, who want to marry and adopt each others' children. (All three are adopted kids with special needs.) The couple filed suit in 2012, and today's ruling also strikes down the state's ban on adoption by same-sex couples, reports the Detroit News. Unlike judges in similar cases, US District Judge Bernard Friedman did not stay his ruling pending appeal. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette filed an emergency request to have the ruling put on hold, and he's still awaiting a decision on that from the 6th Circuit Court. In the meantime, gay couples are free to wed. (Update: Some have begun doing so already.)