Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday extended federal recognition to the same-sex marriages performed in Michigan last Saturday after a judge struck down a ban on gay nuptials but before an appeals court put the ceremonies on hold pending appeal, NBC News reported. "These families will be eligible for all relevant federal benefits on the same terms as other same-sex marriages," Holder said. More than 300 couples reportedly rushed to four courthouses that opened last Saturday after U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman ruled the state's ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional. Holder took the same action in Utah, where more than 1,000 same-sex couples got married before the U.S. Supreme Court put those unions on hold in January after a federal judge overturned the state's same-sex marriage ban in December.
