AUTHORITY: Marriages may be solemnized by...ministers of the gospel, anywhere in the state, "if the minister is ordained or authorized to solemnize marriages according to the usages of the denomination, and is a pastor of a church in this state, or continues to preach the gospel in this state" MCL 551.7; MSA 25.7. Does the phrase "minister of the gospel" include a rabbi? There is no known Michigan law on the subject. FORMS: A special law allows "the people called Friends or Quakers" and "people of any other particular denomination, having, as such, any peculiar mode of solemnizing marriages" to solemnize their marriages in their own manner. MCL 551.17; MSA 25.13. Penalties for Violation (a) A person who solemnizes a marriage, or attempts to solemnize a marriage, knowing that he or she is not lawfully authorized to do so or that there is a legal impediment to the marriage. MCL 551.15; MSA 25.11. [Up to I year; $50 to $500] (b) A person who solemnizes contrary to the provisions of the law (e.g., a prohibited marriage). MCL 551.14; MSA 25.10. [Up to $500] (c) A clergyman or magistrate who solemnizes a marriage without first obtaining a properly issued license from the parties to the marriage. MCL 551.106; MSA 25.37. [Up to $100; if not paid, up to 90 days] ... (k) A person afflicted with syphilis or gonorrhea who marries. MCL 551.6; MSA 25.6. [$500 to $1,000; up to 5 years] (l) A person of sound mind who knowingly marries a person who is insane, an idiot, or who has been confined as a feeble-minded, imbecile, or insane patient, or who has been adjudged insane, feeble-minded, or an imbecile; or a person who advises, aids, abets, causes, procures, or assists in procuring such a marriage. MCL 551.6; MSA 25.6. [Up to $1,000; 1 to 5 years]