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A judge cleared the way on Thursday May 15, 2014 for gay marriages to resume in Arkansas, striking down all state laws that prevent same-sex couples from wedding. A day after the state Supreme Court effectively halted gay marriages in the conservative Bible Belt state, Pulaski County Judge Chris Piazza expanded his ruling striking down a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage to include the prohibition on clerks issuing same-sex marriage licenses.
Justices had ruled Wednesday that Piazza's decision on the gay marriage ban did not change that license law. Piazza also rejected a request to suspend his ruling, saying there's no evidence the state would be harmed by allowing gay marriages to continue.
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Click Here for Equality Around the World
Gay couples across England and Wales said "I do" on Friday, March 28 2014, as a law authorizing same-sex marriage came into effect at midnight, the final stage in a long fight for equality.
Prime Minister David Cameron hailed what he said was an "important moment for our country", and a rainbow flag flew above government offices in London in celebration.
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Tennessee governor Bill Haslam has just received a bill that allows and encourages anti-gay bullying in the name of "religious freedom." The Tennessee "Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act" allows students to use religion in any manner they choose, and protects their use of religion. The ACLU warns that the bill, SB 1793/HB 1547, "crosses the line from protecting religious freedom into creating systematic imposition of some students' personal religious viewpoints on other students."
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U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman today struck down Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage, making it the 18th state in the nation to allow gays and lesbians to join in matrimony. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has filed an emergency request for stay of Friedman's ruling.
"In 2004 the citizens of Michigan recognized that diversity in parenting is best for kids and families because moms and dads are not interchangeable. Michigan voters enshrined that decision in our State constitution, and their will should stand and be respected. I will continue to carry out my duty to protect and defend the Constitution," said Schuette. " Judge Friedman did not stay his ruling pending the outcome of appeal like other federal judges handling similar cases across the country have done".
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A Federal Judge on March 11, 2014 declared Texas' ban on gay marriage unconstitutional but stayed his decision pending an appeal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
Judge Orlando Garcia of U.S. District Court in San Antonio, wrote that the state's marriage laws demean the dignity of gay couples "for no legitimate reason." "Without a rational relation to a legitimate governmental purpose, state-imposed inequality can find no refuge in our United States Constitution," the judge wrote.
