Articles on gay marriage 2014

During recent hearings before three-judge appeals panels at the 10th and 4th Circuits, he notes, "it wasn't a case of every judge monolithically suggesting that the state's case was a meritless one. In the Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia cases, two of the three judges on each appeals court panel appeared to side with the plaintiffs seeking the right to marry or have their marriages recognized.

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The high court also could choose to hear a case with less sweeping implications. Over the next few months, lower court judges are scheduled to hear same-sex marriage cases in Colorado, Louisiana, Florida, Wisconsin and Alabama. That may not be the case in other circuits such as the 5th, which incorporates Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi and is dominated by Republican appointees.

The judges voicing the most skepticism were outnumbered. Rulings could be rendered by the appeals panels in the Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia cases soon, triggering a new round of Supreme Court petitions. Within weeks, North Dakota is likely to become the last state in the nation to be sued over its same-sex marriage ban.

All the lawyers, of course, want one of their cases to be chosen by the Supreme Court, just like Edith Windsor's challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act was picked in December from among several options. The U. Census Bureau for the first time is including married same-sex couples in its data on families.

That trend, which reached a frenetic pace over the past two weeks with rulings in Arkansas, Idaho, Oregon and Pennsylvania, has created an aura of inevitability around the same-sex marriage movement. Advocates for same-sex marriage count 19 consecutive victories on matters big and small since the high court ruled that the federal government must recognize same-sex marriages performed in states where it is legal.

Republican governors who had backed their state's bans, such as Pennsylvania's Tom Corbett, Wisconsin's Scott Walker and Michigan's Rick Snyder, have said they will obey the courts. Forty-four percent of Americans live in states where gays and lesbians can marry.

The race to legalize same-sex marriage in the nation's state and federal courts has become a self-fulfilling prophecy, fueled by an unbroken string of pro-marriage rulings since the Supreme Court first weighed in on the subject last June. The juggernaut could slow or even go into reverse in the coming months as same-sex marriage cases are heard in less hospitable territory.

The justices could accept one or more cases for immediate review; hold them pending more lower court actions, possibly including a split among appeals courts; or allow circuit court decisions to be implemented, which could legalize gay marriage one region at a time.

This includes those in a same-sex marriage or civil union being sentenced to 14 years in prison and foreign partnerships being "void"; additionally those who register, operate or participate in gay clubs, societies and organizations or who directly or indirectly make public display of affection as part of a same-sex relationship would be.

2014 in LGBT Rights

A Texas case that has yet to be scheduled before the U. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit is one example; the 11th Circuit based in Atlanta is another. At issue is whether gay and lesbian couples in all 50 states have the same equal protection or due process right to marry that opposite-sex couples have.

The Supreme Court let stand appeals court rulings allowing same-sex marriage in five states in a move that may signal the inevitability of a nationwide right to such unions. Two weeks earlier, conservative Republicans in Texas will rally in defense of that state's gay-marriage ban.

The last significant loss came in federal district court in Nevada 18 months ago.

Same sex marriage gets

As each decision strikes down state bans, it becomes more difficult for judges to ignore the opinions of peers who have found no constitutional basis to prevent gays and lesbians from having the same marriage rights as heterosexuals.

Proponents of prohibitions, which remain in effect in 31 states, will hold their annual march in Washington next month. President Obama called the Supreme Court's decision affirming the constitutional right of same-sex couples to marry a "victory for America" that had "made our union a little more perfect." In the.

Two federal appeals courts are getting ready to rule in cases from Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia, one or more of which could reach the Supreme Court. Jim Campbell, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is defending gay marriage bans in Oklahoma, Virginia and elsewhere, predicts the string of lower-court decisions won't affect appellate judges.

Lawyers representing same-sex couples say the array of state and federal district court decisions from judges appointed by Republicans as well as Democrats in virtually every part of the country should be persuasive. Some of those pending in Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee seek to have existing same-sex marriages recognized in those states, often for purposes of adoption, health care or marital benefits.