Appeals Court Upholds Gay Marriage Bans in Four States
A streak of victories for activists fighting to extend gay rights across the country came to an end Thursday when an appeals court upheld same-sex marriage bans in four states and made a Supreme Court battle on the issue likely.
Same-sex marriage advocates gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013. Photo by JoshuaMHoover (CC BY-ND 2.0)
A streak of victories for activists fighting to extend gay rights across the country came to an end Thursday when an appeals court upheld same-sex marriage bans in four states and made a Supreme Court battle on the issue likely.
The Guardian reported:
The decision by the sixth circuit court of appeals in Cincinnati, known as a conservative court, means that same-sex marriage remains illegal in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee.
“Of all the ways to resolve this question, one option is not available: a poll of the three judges on this panel, or for that matter all federal judges, about whether gay marriage is a good idea,” wrote judge Jeffrey Sutton, for a two-to-one majority.
Thursday’s decision makes it more likely that the US supreme court will take up the issue, due to conflicting rulings among appeals courts.
Federal courts have been ruling in favor of same-sex marriage since the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act last year. Campaigners on both sides have asked the high court for a final decision on the constitutionality of marriage between two men or two women. In early October, the justices declined to hear seven cases arising from lower appeals courts
Same-sex marriage is currently legal in 32 states.
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"We're one stop closer to holding him accountable," said advocacy group Tax March.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sides with a lower court, saying that reinstating the ban—even temporarily—would cause harm.
Now that gays and lesbians have Supreme Court backing to get married, it's getting harder for wedding-industry workers like Jack Phillips, owner of the Masterpiece Cakeshop in Denver, to refuse to do business with same-sex couples.
A federal appeals court in Manhattan became the second court to find that the Defense of Marriage Act -- the law that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman -- is unconstitutional.
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In a rare victory for the tobacco industry, a U.S. appeals court has ruled against the Food and Drug Administration’s requirement that cigarette manufacturers adorn their products with pictures of dead and diseased smokers, saying the mandate constituted a violation of free speech.
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