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FILE--In this March 5, 2013 file photo, April DeBoer, left, and Jayne Rowse, and pose at their home in Hazel Park, Mich. The family sued the state in a federal court case challenging Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage. U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman on Friday, March 21, 2014, found the ban unconstitutional.

(AP Photo/Paul Sancya, file)

DETROIT, MI - Michigan's same-sex marriage ban was overturned Friday in a court ruling that rejected all of the state's arguments that voters made a rational decision in approving the law in 2004.

Two years after a Hazel Park couple challenged the state's adoption laws in a case that would evolve into a challenge of the gay marriage ban, U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman issued a ruling that went as far as praising the plaintiffs for looking to protect the rights of children of same-sex couples.

"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,'" Friedman wrote in his decision, quoting U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's opinion in the June 2013 ruling that struck down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

"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."

The judge rejected state arguments that voters rationally sought to promote an "optimal environment" for child rearing; to "proceed with caution" before altering marriage law; and to "uphold tradition and morality."

"None of these proffered reasons provides a rational basis for adopting the amendment," wrote Friedman. "... Prohibiting gays and lesbians from

marrying does not stop them from forming families and raising children. Nor does prohibiting same-sex marriage increase the number of heterosexual marriages or the number of children raised by heterosexual parents. There is, in short, no logical connection between banning same-sex marriage and providing children with an 'optimal environment' or achieving 'optimal outcomes.'"

Friedman also panned testimony from expert witnesses brought by the state during the trial.

The plaintiff's attorneys called a number of social scientists to the stand who cited studies that found no difference in health and academic success when comparing children of same-sex and opposite-sex couples.

The state in its defense of the law countered with several more experts who cited different studies indicating disadvantages for children of gay parents.

"State defendants cited a small number of outlier studies in support of the optimal child-rearing rationale," Friedman wrote.

He found that those studies failed to "account for the fact that many of the subjects who were raised in same-sex households experienced prior incidents of family instability (e.g., divorce or separation) or were initially placed in the foster care system."

And he found that the fact that 2.7 million voters approved the law didn't matter when it came to deciding constitutionality.

"Further, the Court rejects the contention that Michigan's traditional definition of

marriage possesses a heightened air of legitimacy because it was approved by voter referendum," the judge wrote. "The popular origin of the MMA does nothing to insulate the provision from constitutional scrutiny."

Partners Jayne Rowse and April DeBoer fight MI's same-sex marriage and adoption laws for their family 20 Gallery: Partners Jayne Rowse and April DeBoer fight MI's same-sex marriage and adoption laws for their family

The ruling makes Michigan the 18th state where same-sex marriage is legal.

Friedman prohibited the state from continuing to enforce the Michigan Marriage Amendment without issuing a stay of his ruling pending appeal.

That means same-sex couples could theoretically apply for marriage licenses immediately, but most county clerks' offices were closed when the ruling was issued after 5 p.m.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette filed an emergency request for stay and appeal of the ruling with 6th Circuit Court of Appeals immediately after Friedman filed his ruling.

"In 2004 the citizens of Michigan recognized that diversity in parenting is best for kids and families because moms and dads are not interchangeable," Schuette said in a statement. "Michigan voters enshrined that decision in our State constitution, and their will should stand and be respected. I will continue to carry out my duty to protect and defend the Constitution."

Federal judges in Oklahoma, Virginia and Texas each granted stays delaying execution of their orders after overturning gay marriage bans in those states earlier this year.

A judge in Utah in December 2013 overturned that state's gay marriage ban with no delay in execution, but the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in two weeks later to order a stay.

"Given the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in the Utah case, I fully expect our request for stay to be granted," Schuette said.

Friedman's ruling came more than two years after plaintiffs Jayne Rowse and April DeBoer filed their lawsuit against the state over being prohibited from jointly adopting their three children.

The two nurses from Hazel Park feared that if one parent were to die, the other may not get custody of all three children without a legal marriage in Michigan.

Rowse has two adopted children, Jacob and Nolan. DeBoer adopted one, Ryanne.

Friedman in 2012 told them their case would have a better chance if it challenged the state's gay marriage ban, rather than just adoption laws, so they expanded the lawsuit to do so, bringing them under the national spotlight.

The judge denied requests from the state to dismiss the lawsuit in 2013, saying the couple "deserve their day in court."

They got nine days in court in a trial that had crowds of activists on both sides of the issue protesting outside the courthouse every step of the way.

“It’s a great day for me, for April and for our children,” said Rowse in a statement issued Friday evening. “... We’re looking forward to getting back into the routine of spending time with our kids. Just like other parents, that’s really what we enjoy more than anything else.”

Follow MLive Detroit reporter Khalil AlHajal on Twitter @DetroitKhalil or on Facebook at Detroit Khalil. He can be reached at kalhajal@mlive.com or 313-643-0527.