DETROIT, MI -- An appeals court has issued a stay of U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman's Friday ruling that called Michigan's gay marriage ban unconstitutional.

Hundreds of same-sex couples rushed to get married in four Michigan counties where clerks were accepting marriage license applications in special weekend hours Saturday.

But the order from the U.S. 6th Circuit Court, filed just before 5 p.m., means the weddings won't continue, at least until Wednesday.

"To allow a more reasoned consideration of the motion to stay, it is ordered that the district court’s judgment is temporarily stayed until Wednesday, March 26, 2014," the court ruled.

The court set a noon Tuesday deadline for the plaintiffs in the case -- April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, who sued the state because they can't jointly adopt their three children without a legal marriage -- to file a response to the state's motion for a long-term stay pending appeal.

Michigan joins four other states, Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia and Texas, that have had courts overturn gay marriage bans, but with rulings stayed pending appeal.



Another 17 states and Washington D.C. currently allow same-sex marriage, legalized by popular vote in three states, legislative action in eight and court decisions in six.

While Michigan was briefly the 18th state allowing gay couples to marry, clerks in Washtenaw, Oakland, Muskegon and Ingham counties were issuing licenses, and wedding officiants were holding speedy ceremonies, sometimes right inside county offices.

Utah saw a similar situation when a judge struck down that state's gay marriage ban in December 2013 without staying his order, clearing the way for same-sex nuptials, until the U.S. Supreme Court imposed a stay in January.

The marriages that took place there were not recognized by government agencies after the stay was issued, as Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette noted in his appeals court filings.

"The state does not recognize the licenses that were issued prior to the Supreme Court's

grant of the stay," Schuette wrote about Utah his emergency request for stay of Friedman's order.

"In addition to those whose licenses are no longer valid, individuals who planned ceremonies were not able to complete them, and financial and family planning decisions made upon the assumption that the state would recognize same-sex marriage licenses are now a nullity. Should a stay not be granted, marriage licenses would be issued under a cloud of uncertainty, the State would face administrative burdens, and actions taken in reliance on the licenses would impact employers, creditors, and others."

Some Utah couples and the American Civil Liberties Union sued the state after their marriages weren't recognized there.

Full coverage of Michigan's gay marriage developments here.

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.