Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Oklahoma Ban On Gay Marriage

Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Oklahoma Ban On Gay Marriage

By Michael Muskal, Los Angeles Times

For the second time, a federal appeals court panel in Denver has upheld same-sex marriage by striking down Oklahoma’s ban on gay marriage.

In the 2-1 ruling released Friday, a three-judge panel held in the Oklahoma case that the U.S. Constitution protects same-sex marriage.
The ruling comes after the same panel ruled June 25 that Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage violates the Constitution — the first time a federal appeals court had ruled on gay marriage since the Supreme Court said a year ago that the federal government had to extend benefits to legally married same-sex couples.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel put its Oklahoma and Utah rulings on hold pending an appeal. Utah’s attorney general has already announced that he plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Though the cases were separate, the issue the court was asked to decide is essentially the same in each. Both cases revolve around lower federal court rulings that struck down state same-sex marriage bans approved by voters. The cases pit the constitutional rights of individuals to marry against the states’ view of what voters want.

Oklahoma’s ban was approved by 76 percent of the voters in 2004.

Photo: Susan Melkisethian via Flickr

Interested in national news? Sign up for our daily email newsletter!

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

How A Stuttering President Confronts A Right-Wing Bully

Donald Trump mocks Joe Biden’s stutter,” the headlines blare, and I am confronted (again) with (more) proof that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee hates people like me.

Keep reading...Show less
Trump at Trump Tower

Former President Donald Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - Donald Trump faces a Monday deadline to post a bond to cover a $454 million civil fraud judgment or face the risk of New York state seizing some of his marquee properties.Trump, seeking to regain the presidency this year, must either pay the money out of his own pocket or post a bond while he appeals Justice Arthur Engoron's February 16 judgment against him for manipulating his net worth and his family real estate company's property values to dupe lenders and insurers.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}