Gay Marriage Laws and US News: Judges Overturn Same-Sex Wedding Bans in Mississippi, Arkansas
Two federals in Mississippi and Arkansas have overturned their respective state's same-sex marriage bans. The moves come as court after court throughout the country, with one exception, continues to find gay marriage bans to be unconstitutional. The Mississippi and Arkansas governments both have said they will appeal.
U.S. district judges in Mississippi and Arkansas have both struck down their respective states' bans on same-sex marriage, deeming it in violation of the 14th amendment, according to NBC News.
U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves, however, stayed his decision for 14 days, giving the state's attorney general the chance to appeal his ruling to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. During this time, county clerks cannot issue marriage licenses until the appeal.
"This court joins the vast majority of federal courts to conclude that same-sex couples and the children they raise are equal before the law," Reeves stated in his opinion. "This court joins the vast majority of federal courts to conclude that same-sex couples and the children they raise are equal before the law,"
The Campaign for Southern Equality and two lesbian couples sued the state, according to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. Joce Pritchett and Carla Webb sought recognition for their Maine marriage, while Rebecca Bickett and Andrea Sanders sought to reverse the ban outright.
Roberta Kaplan, who famously argued in the U.S. Supreme Court against Proposition 8, handled their case. Pritchett and Webb were overjoyed after the ruling was announced.
Another district judge in Arkansas, U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker, ruled that the decade-old ban did not protect the rights of same-sex couples, according to Reuters.
"These laws impose unconstitutional classifications on the basis of gender in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution," she wrote in her decision.
The case, brought forth by two same-sex couples, was put on hold until an appeal can filed to the 8th Circuit Court, according to The Associated Press.
NBC News reports that the office of outgoing Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel is reviewing the decision and will decide to appeal after Thanksgiving.
His Mississippi counterpart, Jim Hood, said his office would appeal the decision.
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