Posted on 03/28/2014 7:30:19 AM PDT by ColdOne
ttorney General Eric Holder said Friday that the federal government will recognize about 300 same-sex marriages performed in Michigan before a federal appeals court halted them, despite a decision by Michigan's governor not to recognize those unions.
The decision means federal benefits will be extended to those couples -- including the ability to file taxes jointly, get Social Security benefits for spouses and request legal immigration status for partners.
"These families will be eligible for all relevant federal benefits on the same terms as other same-sex marriages," Holder said in a statement.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
It is not a good thing to defy the will of the people.
can I ask a stupid question? If the legality of these marriages is unclear, how can the attorney general unilaterally decide he will recognize them??
Is this just another example of the lawlessness of the Obama administration? In this case, since the administration favors homosexual marriage, they have decided to act, before the appeals court has even heard the case?????
Think of all those Democrat voters!
/s/
IMHO
Ping.
Lawlessness.
Righteousness at the state level won’t do much good when God lets His hand of judgment fall on the whole country.
Bingo! You nailed it.
Belongs in breaking.
I don't believe it's accurate to they Michigan's governor decided not to recognize "those unions." This from MSU State News: Snyder: Gay marriages valid, but no benefits yet
"Gov. Rick Snyder declared the marriages of about 300 same-sex couples married in Michigan valid Wednesday, but newlyweds shouldn’t expect to see full marriage benefits yet.
In a statement, Snyder said the state would recognize the legality of the same-sex marriages that took place on Saturday after U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman’s ruling struck down the ban.
Snyder made clear the state thought the marriages — conducted between the ruling and the stay — were legal, but did not go so far as to grant the newly-married couples full marriage rights in the state.
After Snyder and Attorney General Bill Schuette’s request for a temporary stay was granted Saturday evening, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided to continue the motion until a decision is made by the higher court.
“After comprehensive legal review of state law and all recent court rulings, we have concluded that same-sex couples were legally married at county clerk offices,” Snyder said in the statement. However, the couples’ marriage benefits are suspended until “further court rulings are issued on this matter,” the statement said.
The state’s current stance on the matter will prevent couples from taking on the usual benefits of married couples, such as filing taxes as a married couple, insurance coverage and employee benefits for the time being.
“If you are married and you own a car and you transfer ownership to your spouse, there is no tax to pay. Same-sex couples have to pay,” MSU law professor Mae Kuykendall said.
“The governor didn’t want to say (Saturday’s marriages are) invalid and will be ignored, but he didn’t want to treat them as full marriages."
According to Kuykendall, Michigan’s same-sex marriages would still be recognized in other jurisdictions where gay marriage is legal, such as New York, even if they are not yet recognized in Michigan.
A similar incident occurred in the United States v. Windsor case last year, Kuykendall said, where Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg referred to the marriages under the new ruling as “skim milk” marriages.
In a statement released Wednesday, Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum asked Snyder and Schuette to “put Michigan on the right side of history.”
“When it comes to making Michigan a forward-looking state, Governor Snyder and Attorney General Schuette need to lead or get out of the way,” Byrum said in a statement.
I believe that whenever the Feds “recognize” behavior not legal in the States, they should have the involved parties moved to The District of Columbia to live.
Thanks to his efforts, to partially quote Luke's Uncle Owen, "...there'll be hell to pay."
I think the Articles of Confederation gave too much authority to the feds.
Just a thought, but sooner or later Republicans (and if we wish hard enough, conservatives) will be in power.
Will the left sit quietly by while a Republican administration follows Holders lead and only enforce laws he wants to enforce?
(That was a rhetorical question, we all know once we have a Republican administration we will again be hearing about abuse of power, calls for special prosecutors and the Imperial President.
The criminal attorney general needs to answer to a special prosecutor.
It won’t be long if we continue down this path!
I agree. How can you recognize what didn’t take place?
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