A judge in western Michigan who has performed marriages for hundreds of couples is getting married to her same-sex partner of 27 years.
Kent County District Court Judge Sara Smolenski tells The Grand Rapids Press it's "so powerful to join two people together that love each other" and she says she "never thought in my lifetime I'd see this."
She and Linda Burpee plan to marry this weekend.
Michigan voters in 2004 backed a gay marriage ban. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court said same-sex couples have a right to marry.
The couple could have married earlier in another state, but Smolenski says they wanted to be married in Michigan because it's their home.
WOOD-TV reports about 200 family and friends are invited. Smolenski says their support has been "overwhelming."
