Judge Bernard Friedman became close to former law clerk Judith Levy, now an openly gay judge.
Update -- Saturday, 7:30 a.m.: The judge who originally tossed out Michigan's gay marriage ban will marry April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse of Hazel Parkr this summer, Katrease Stafford writes in the Freep.
The couple asked [Judge Bernard] Friedman on Fox 2 Detroit. Friedman, who was at the television studio in Southfield, congratulated the couple who were still in Ann Arbor Friday evening, celebrating with friends and supporters near the Jim Toy Community Center.
"We would like to know if you would marry us," DeBoer asked. Friedman enthusiastically answered, "Yes, anytime."
The couple has yet to set a date.
Original article, Friday afternoon:
U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman obviously feels strongly about gay marriage.
The Detroit judge, nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1988, cried when he heard the news that the Supreme Court had legalized same-sex marriage, Robert Snell of The Detroit News reports.
The 5-4 ruling came more than a year after Friedman overturned Michigan's gay marriage ban. The Court of Appeals later upheld the ban.
“I am so excited. Very excited,” Friedman tells The News. “I was praying for this. We live in America and equal protection is equal protection. I couldn’t see our country going any other way.”
The News writes that Friedman was sitting in his car when a colleague, U.S. District Judge Judith Levy, called with the news at 10:02 a.m. Levy is the first openly gay judge in the 6th U.S. Circuit.
“She and I cried together,” Friedman said.
Related article today:
Mich. Clerks Begin Marrying Same-Sex Couples As U.S. Supreme Court Says OK
