LANSING, MI -- The ACLU of Michigan is considering legal action on behalf of same-sex couples who were married on Saturday after a federal judge struck down the state's ban but before an appeals court put the decision on hold.

Gov. Rick Snyder, citing advice from his counsel and a desire to follow the law, said Wednesday that some 300 marriage licenses were legally issued to same-sex couples this weekend but will not be recognized by the state because of a stay issued by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The governor's position could help those couples win federal benefits, according to ACLU of Michigan LGBT Project attorney Jay Kaplan, but it still treats them as "second-class citizens" by denying them access to state benefits such as joint adoption, tax filings and health care options.

"It's very disconcerting that in one breath, he's saying these marriages are legal, and yet he's saying the state will deny any benefits, protections or recognitions associated with the marriage," Kaplan said of Snyder.

"How can you talk out of both sides of your mouth?

"These people have legal marriages, and under the laws of our state, as well as the constitution, you have to treat them equally."

Attorneys are talking to some of the couples married this weekend and exploring the possibility of filing a lawsuit in an attempt to force the state to recognize their marriages. The ACLU hopes to decide on a course of action in the near future.

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.

County clerks in Ingham, Muskegon, Oakland and Washtenaw counties opened their doors early Saturday, and more than 300 same-sex couples rushed to tie the knot.

The first gay couple legally married in Michigan, Glenna DeJong and Marsha Caspar of Lansing, have been together 27 years.

Later Saturday, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals halted the ruling, and on Tuesday, the three-judge panel issued an indefinite stay pending the outcome of appeal by Attorney General Bill Schuette.

"What we have here is a situation where legal marriages took place Saturday," Snyder said Wednesday, "but because of the stay, the operation of law is such that we won't recognize the benefits of those marriages until there is a removal of the stay or there is an upholding of the judge's opinion by the Court of Appeals or a higher court."

A similar situation arose late last year in Utah, where a federal judge struck down that state's gay marriage ban and an appeals court declined to suspend the ruling pending appeal. Roughly 1,300 couples were married before the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in an issued a stay.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, like Snyder, acknowledged those marriages were performed legally but said the state would not recognize them while the stay remained in place.

The ACLU of Utah sued the state in late January on behalf of four same-sex couples who were married there, arguing the they had gained liberty and property rights that could not be retroactively removed without violating the due process clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

A federal judge heard oral arguments in the Utah marriage recognition case earlier this month but has not made a ruling.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed that the Utah marriages will be recognized for all federal benefits. Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum and East Lansing Mayor Nathan Triplett sent Holder a letter urging the same recognition of same-sex couples married this weekend in Michigan.

"Many of the couples that were married on March 22 waited decades for that opportunity," they wrote. "Their marriages complied with Judge Friedman's order and all relevant provisions of Michigan law and should be recognized as such by state and federal authorities without delay."

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