Wishing Fred Phelps a fond farewell from the newly gay-friendly Great Lakes State

MIgay2

Am I the only one who found it interesting that, within hours of hearing that America’s most infamous homophobe, Fred Phelps, had passed away, that a federal judge ruled that Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional?

There’s a certain kind of poetic beauty in that, isn’t there?

Congratulations to all of my friends who will soon be lining up at courthouses across Michigan to obtain marriage licenses.

I know that the fight for equality isn’t over by a long shot, but it really does feel as though we’re moving from winter into spring in more than just a “this happens every year” sense.

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18 Comments

  1. Posted March 21, 2014 at 9:09 pm | Permalink

    Actually they can start getting gay married tomorrow morning.

    Check the comments for an update by the reporter:
    http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2014/03/washtenaw_county_clerk_ready_t_1.html

  2. Posted March 21, 2014 at 9:16 pm | Permalink

    Washtenaw County clerk ready to issue marriage licenses to gay couples Monday:

    The original story:

    Washtenaw County Clerk Larry Kestenbaum said he’s ready to issue applications and marriage licenses as soon as his office opens 8 a.m. Monday, barring a stay order from a judge.

    U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman issued a long-awaited overturn of Michigan’s voter-approved ban on gay marriage just after 5 p.m. Friday…

    The addition referenced by Eddie:

    The Washtenaw County Clerk’s Office will be open from 9 am to 1 pm Saturday, March 23, to issue marriage licenses as a result of the lifting of Michigan’s ban on gay marriage.

  3. Posted March 21, 2014 at 9:18 pm | Permalink

    It’s smart on their part not to give the Republicans too much time to try to get a stay order in place.

  4. Posted March 21, 2014 at 9:33 pm | Permalink

    I highly recommend that people read the entire opinion. It is just all sorts of awesome. In essence, it tells the defendants to suck on their expert witness and his “funded by a third party” opinion, roll it in shit and then shove it up their ass. I felt so jolly as I read it…really, really well done!

  5. Ed Golembiewski by proxy
    Posted March 21, 2014 at 10:33 pm | Permalink

    I’m very proud to say that, barring a last-minute stay of Judge Friedman’s ruling, the Washtenaw County Clerk’s office will be open tomorrow (Saturday) from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to receive marriage license applications from same-sex (or any) couples. We’ve had to set a limit of 60 due to staff availability. The office will re-open on Monday at 8:30 a.m. The 3-day waiting period for the license can be waived for a fee of $0.01 tomorrow and Monday.

    If you’re interested, please make sure to look this over:
    http://www.ewashtenaw.org/government/clerk_register/cr_vitals_marriage_info.html

  6. FYI
    Posted March 21, 2014 at 11:56 pm | Permalink

    The image above is of Jayne Rowse and April DeBoer celebrate ruling with a woman I assume is their attorney. You can see the video here.

    http://www.wxyz.com/news/judge-rules-on-michigans-same-sex-marriage-ban

  7. Posted March 22, 2014 at 7:10 am | Permalink

    Looking forward to a Saturday wedding ceremony!

  8. Brainless
    Posted March 22, 2014 at 7:25 am | Permalink

    First “Cosmos” looks at the camera and says “evolution is real” and now this. It’s like living in the “Thaw of Elightenment”.

  9. Posted March 22, 2014 at 7:41 am | Permalink

    God will lay waste to Michigan in revenge, buses will fail to work, public schools will shut down, jobs will be lost, buildings will burn, more potholes will appear, our Governor will say something.

    Oh wait, Michigan is already a wasteland.

  10. John Galt
    Posted March 22, 2014 at 8:06 am | Permalink

    This is what happens when you encourage people to eat enormous sausages together.

  11. Brainless
    Posted March 22, 2014 at 8:11 am | Permalink

    OMG Patti! You are so right. Folks, you should read every delicious word of this ruling. Honestly, it will salve your wounds when you start to think that there are no rational people left in power. It’s like an adult finally showed up.

  12. Posted March 22, 2014 at 8:26 am | Permalink

    A2gaymarriage

    Our friend Beth Bashert just posted the above image to Facebook along with the following note… “We are number 45.”

  13. Posted March 22, 2014 at 8:32 am | Permalink

    You can read the ruling here:

    http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140321/SPECIAL01/140321003/

  14. Eel
    Posted March 22, 2014 at 9:59 am | Permalink

    Looking at the photo, I don’t see anyone with a dog or a horse they’re hoping to mary. I guess Santorum was wrong.

  15. anonymous
    Posted March 22, 2014 at 12:59 pm | Permalink

    Is anyone allowed to straight marry anymore?

  16. John Galt Jr.
    Posted March 22, 2014 at 2:39 pm | Permalink

    How can you say this isn’t Satanic? It happened the day after the world experienced it’s darkest night in the past 500 years.

    http://io9.com/5715413/tonight-will-be-the-darkest-night-of-the-past-500-years

  17. Posted March 22, 2014 at 9:35 pm | Permalink

    As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, the 6th Circuit Court issued a “stay” of Judge Friedman’s ruling this evening, making same-sex marriage once again something that cannot lawfully be done. The following is from Washtenaw County Clerk Lawrence Kestenbaum,

    I should give up predicting what the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals will do — my track record so far is terrible.

    Long story short, late this afternoon, the 6th Circuit issued a “stay” of Judge Friedman’s ruling on same-sex marriage in Michigan. That suspends the effect of the ruling, so that the prohibition on same-sex marriage comes back into effect.

    According to court documents, the stay is only until Wednesday, March 26. The plaintiffs are being given the opportunity to contest the stay, and I expect they will do so vigorously.

    It is a hopeful sign that the stay is time-limited instead of indefinite. However, it means that, on Monday and Tuesday, my office will not be able to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

    As I previously announced, we issued 74 licenses to same-sex couples this morning (Saturday).

    I await further word from the Court of Appeals.

  18. Meta
    Posted March 26, 2014 at 9:04 am | Permalink

    It may be summer 2015 before gay couples married last weekend know if their marriages will be honored.

    The nearly 300 same-sex Michigan couples who got married last weekend will face a longer wait to learn whether their vows will be legally valid.

    The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday extended a stay on last week’s ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Bernard Friedman that struck down the Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage.

    The 2-1 ruling, issued late Tuesday afternoon, means the case will have to make its way through the appellate court, and likely the U.S. Supreme Court, before the couples know whether their marriages will be legally recognized.

    And that Supreme Court decision probably won’t come until the summer of 2015 at the earliest, said Jay Kaplan, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.

    Read more:
    http://www.freep.com/article/20140325/NEWS06/303250144

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