High court ruling may lead to gay marriage in 30 states

[Valmy]

Not quite the same when the decision to allow gay marriage is not in the hands of the voters or their elected representatives. I mean, Utah was one of the earliest...

Yeah ok when Texas ratified the 13th in 1870 lets just say the elected representatives were not very representative of the population.

But you are probably just getting nervous that Georgia is still gray.

[garbon]

[derspiess]

Yeah grabon you can have your destination wedding in West Virginia now.  Congrats

[The Minsky Moment]

At garbon's last graphic indicates, the Sixth Circuit - which covers Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee and Kentucky - upheld state bans on same-sex marriages.  So for the first time, there is a legal split on these issue at the appeals court level just below the Supreme Court.  Petitions for review have already been filed and so we might see the Supreme Court act after all.

[garbon]

Yeah grabon you can have your destination wedding in West Virginia now.  Congrats

My mother wanted to take a trip to WV (one of the few states she hasn't been to). I declined the offer.

[derspiess]

Yeah grabon you can have your destination wedding in West Virginia now.  Congrats

My mother wanted to take a trip to WV (one of the few states she hasn't been to). I declined the offer.

There are some nice places to visit-- that don't really feel like they're part of WV.

[Caliga]

My mother wanted to take a trip to WV (one of the few states she hasn't been to). I declined the offer.

It's wild and wonderful.

[garbon]

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2014/11/25/judge-overturns-mississippi-same-sex-marriage-ban/70122842/

This, boys, is the only state that I want to get married in.

Judge overturns Mississippi same-sex marriage ban

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves on Tuesday handed same-sex couples a partial victory in their quest to overturn Mississippi's gay marriage ban.

Reeves granted a preliminary injunction blocking the state's ban against same-sex unions as sought by the Campaign for Southern Equality and two lesbian couples who had sued in the state in federal court. But the judge also postponed the injunction from going into effect for 14 days in a legal maneuver called a "stay."

This means same-sex couples cannot yet obtain marriages licenses in Mississippi.

In his 72-page order, Reeves said "Mississippi continues to change in ways its people could not anticipate even 10 years ago. Allowing same-sex couples to marry, however, presents no harm to anyone. At the very least, it has the potential to support families and provide stability for children."

The stay gives Mississippi time to appeal Reeves' ruling at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Although it hasn't announced its next step, the state is widely expected to ask the higher court to immediately block Reeve's injunction, which would prevent gay couples from obtaining marriage licenses.

That could happen in a matter of days and would remain in effect until the 5th Circuit rules on two other pending gay marriage cases – that of Louisiana and Texas – set for oral arguments the week of Jan. 5.

Whatever the 5th Circuit decides in these cases also will apply to Mississippi.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court could agree to a hear one of several other gay marriage cases elsewhere country, with its decision ultimately superseding those made in the federal or circuit courts.

"We're thrilled that Judge Reeves understood and appreciated and took such great care and time to explain why gay people have the same rights under the constitution as everyone else," said Robert Kaplan, lead counsel for the plaintiffs.

Kaplan is a New York-based attorney best known for her work as litigating United States v. Windsor, in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down parts of the Defense of Marriage Act.

"I think this opinion is going to stand as truly as a landmark opinion in this area," she said.

The Clarion-Ledger was not immediately able to reach Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, who was named in the lawsuit and whose agency is representing the state in court.

Kaplan said she's ready to continue the right if the state appeals.

"We will win this one in the 5th Circuit, too," she said.

The Campaign for Southern Equality filed the lawsuit on Oct. 20 on behalf of Mississippi same-sex couples: Rebecca Bickett and Andrea Sanders, who are challenging the state's outright ban on gay marriage; and Carla Webb and Jocelyn Pritchett, who are seeking state recognition for their existing legal marriage performed in Maine.

Defendants in the suit are Gov. Phil Bryant, state Attorney General Jim Hood and Hinds County Circuit Clerk Barbara Dunn.

Both sides had argued before Reeves during a roughly five-hour hearing earlier this month in the federal courthouse in Jackson. Plaintiffs called Mississippi's ban on gay marriage baseless and discriminatory.

The state's lead attorney, Justin Matheny, defended Mississippi's ban as necessary to promote what he called "responsible procreation" among married couples who are able to bear children.

Legal experts nationwide reacted to the news just minutes after the announcement.

Evan Wolfson, president of pro-LGBT organization Freedom to Marry praised Reeve's decision.

"Couples building a life together in Mississippi deserve the same freedom to marry as any other Americans, and today yet another court has affirmed Mississippians' freedom to marry and their equality under the Constitution," Wolfson said in a press release. "It is time for the United States Supreme Court to take up a case and end marriage discrimination once and for all."

[Valmy]

Biloxi is lovely in the springtime.

They were one of the gray states to.  Huh.