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tying_the_knot

The high court's decision not to hear the cases was unexpected because most legal experts believed it would want to weigh in on a question of national importance that focuses on whether the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal treatment under the law means gay marriage bans were unlawful.

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The issue could still return to the court, but the message sent by the court in declining to hear the matter would be a boost to gay marriage advocates involved in similar litigation in states that still have bans on the books.  Just over a year ago, the justices ruled 5-4 in June 2013 to strike down a key part of a federal law that had restricted the definition of marriage to heterosexual couples for the purpose of federal government benefits. That decision in the Case U.S. v. Windsor led to a series of court rulings favoring gay marriage in numerous states. In a separate case decided on the same day, the justices sidestepped the broader question of whether state bans violated the U.S. Constitution but allowed gay marriage to move forward in California. The momentum within America's courts in favor of gay marriage reflects a sea-change in public opinion in the past decade, with polls showing a steady increase in support. Politicians, mostly Democrats but also some notable Republicans, have increasingly voiced their support for ending bans. It was only as recently as 2004 that Massachusetts became the first state to allow gay marriage following a state court ruling the previous year. In 17 other states, judges have issued rulings in favor of gay marriage - most of which struck down bans - although the prohibitions have remained intact while litigation continues. State officials defending their bans counter that the Constitution does not dictate how states should define marriage and that there is no deeply rooted legal tradition that supports a right to gay marriage.


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A day after the Supreme Court passed on gay marriage appeals and effectively made same-sex marriage legal in 30 states, the federal appeals court in San Francisco struck down gay marriage bans in a decision that could soon allow gay and lesbian couples to wed in five more states. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco invalidated bans in Idaho and Nevada, and the ruling might well extend to three other states in the 9th Circuit that do not permit same-sex couples to marry: Alaska, Arizona and Montana, bringing the total number of states where Gay Marriage would be legal to 35.   It remained to be seen whether the court would put its decision on hold or, if not, whether gay marriage opponents would ask the Supreme Court to keep the ruling from taking effect. There are four other federal appeals courts in the Midwest and South that have a more conservative makeup and have yet to rule on same-sex marriage. The justices may find it harder to stay out of the gay marriage issue if a federal appeals court upholds same-sex marriage bans and parts company with the other appellate courts that have ruled so far.

Courts based in Atlanta, Cincinnati, New Orleans and St. Louis could produce anti-gay marriage rulings. Of those, the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could rule anytime in cases considering anti-gay marriage laws in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.  Such a ruling, if it comes quickly, could be appealed to the Supreme Court in time to be argued and decided by late June, 2015.

Other States in the Union:

The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is handling cases from Louisiana, in which a federal judge upheld the state's ban, and Texas, where the anti-gay marriage law was struck down. Florida's appeal of a federal judge's ruling in favor of same-sex marriage will be heard by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. No gay marriage cases have yet been decided by federal courts in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stretching from North Dakota to Arkansas. But a state court judge in Arkansas has struck down the state ban. In 2006, the 8th Circuit upheld a gay marriage ban in Nebraska. Once the 9th Circuit ruling goes into force, same-sex marriage would be legal in 35 states and the District of Columbia and against the law in 15.

Those numbers would be similar to the division among the states when the Supreme Court earlier got rid of legal segregation of public schools, bans on interracial marriage and anti-sodomy laws that targeted gay people.

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