2016 Ferndale Pride: Gay, Proud and Legally Married

FERNDALE, MI– It has been nearly one year the U.S. Supreme Court struck down gay marriage bans in Michigan and four other states and made same-sex marriage the law of the land.

Same-sex couples’ rights have shifted dramatically. They can marry, adopt one another’s children, inherit one another’s property and make health-care decisions for one another, and enjoy dozens of other rights and privileges that were denied them before the landmark ruling.

The commitment ceremony that didn’t carry any legal weight will be replaced with “Married and Proud,” a public wedding ceremony.

“ … This will be the first Ferndale Pride where people can legally get married in what used to be just a commitment ceremony,” Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter, who has performed dozens of same-sex wedding ceremonies since the ruling, told The Daily Tribune.

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Coulter said that of all the rights LGBT people have earned, the right to marry is the most significant.

“So, it’s appropriate that we’re doing it at the Ferndale Pride festival,” he said.

Tell Us

• Has the Supreme Court ruling changed your support for or opposition to same-sex marriage?