 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. That prompted Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette to file an emergency stay request to prevent gay couples from marrying right away. 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. �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. �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. 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. �We are going to get married when we can stay married,� said DeBoer. �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 did this for the protection of our children,� said DeBoer of their efforts to overturn the law banning same-sex couples from adoption. �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. 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.
– 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.)