LANSING, MI -- The federal government will recognize some 300 same-sex marriages performed in Michigan on Saturday after a federal judge struck down the state's ban but before the ruling was indefinitely stayed.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced Friday that the families will be eligible for "all relevant federal benefits on the same terms as other same-sex marriages."

Holder said the decision to recognize the marriages is consistent with previous recognition of same-sex marriages performed in Utah under similar circumstances.

The "Michigan couples will not be asked to wait for further resolution in the courts before they may seek federal benefits to which they are entitled," Holder said in a statement.

While the federal government will recognize the marriages, Michigan will not. That means couples married Saturday will not have the legal right to adopt children together or file joint income taxes at the state level.

Gov. Rick Snyder, citing advice from his counsel and a desire to follow the law, said Wednesday that the marriage licenses were legally issued but will not be recognized by the state because of a stay issued by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman on Friday evening struck down Michigan's 2004 constitutional amendment that banned gay marriage, saying it violated the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law.

Clerks in four Michigan counties opened their doors early Saturday and issued more than 300 marriage licenses to same-sex couples before the Sixth Circuit stepped in and halted Friedman's ruling pending the outcome of an appeal by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette.

A handful of Congressional Democrats wrote Holder on Thursday asking for federal recognition of the couples married on Saturday. Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum and East Lansing Mayor Nathan Triplett wrote a similar letter earlier in the week.

Holder, in announcing the recognition, noted a June decision by the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibited federal benefits for individuals married in states were it is legal.

That decision was "a victory for equal protection under the law and a historic step toward equality for all American families," he said.

"The Department of Justice continues to work with its federal partners to implement this decision across the government. And we will remain steadfast in our commitment to realizing our country’s founding ideals of equality, opportunity, and justice for all."

Update at 1:56 p.m. -- Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder responded to Holder's announcement later Friday at an unrelated press event.

"It wasn't surprising because of the situation in Utah and the position he took there," the governor said. "It does, again, create more complexity in the matter. The issue is, in Michigan, they were legally married on Saturday, but given the fact the stay came, there was really no other option than to say we have to suspend the benefits. We just need to comply with Michigan law, and I'm sure we'll get a number of questions that we'll try to sort out between state and federal law."

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Google+ or follow him on Twitter.