1-year anniversary this weekend for Michigan's gay married couples

300 couples to celebrate this weekend in Michigan

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. – For a matter of hours last year on this March 22 weekend, same-sex marriage was legal in Michigan. Three-hundred couples jumped at the chance to make their union legal.

Diane and Dana Shaw were one of the 300, and this may be their one-year legal anniversary, but they've been a couple for the past 14 years.

"We rushed to do it, I mean, it was a chance for us to be legally equal and for her to be recognized as a parent," Diane Shaw said.

The couple is raising two 5-year-old boys. Legally, only Diane Shaw is their parent, even though Dana Shaw is just as much their mom.

While their marriage was in legal limbo in Michigan for most of the year, a federal judge has ruled the state has to recognize those 300 marriages that took place last year.

In reality, both women are holding their breath to see what the U.S. Supreme Court does when Michigan's gay marriage case goes before the court on April 28.

For now, the couple goes through the day to day of raising their boys.

"Are they eating whipped cream?" Dana Shaw asked Local 4's Mara MacDonald as the interview was going on. The boys had sneaked to the refrigerator and were having whipped cream from the can.

Five-year-old Jacob and Charlie know they have two moms. What they don't understand is the lofty legal arguments swirling around their parents and the validity of their relationship.

"We don't need a parade. We just want to be able to pick up our kids, take our kid to the doctor," Diane Shaw told Local 4.

While they wait to see what the Supreme Court does, the couple will celebrate this weekend along with 299 other couples.

There will be several celebrations around the state commemorating the occasion. For a list, click here.


About the Author: