Wed 8 Oct 2014 In: International News View at Wayback View at NDHA
A US Supreme Court decision on marriage equality is having a quick domino effect, with more states lifting bans on same-sex marriage. Yesterday the Supreme Court denied appeals against marriage equality in Virginia, Oklahoma, Utah, Wisconsin and Indiana, allowing weddings to take place. Oklahoma couple Kelsie and Holly getting married. Picture / Freedom to Marry. It had an immediate impact in Colorado, where Attorney General John Suthers withdrew an appeal and told the state’s 64 county clerks to begin issuing licenses to same-sex couples. It made Colorado is the 25th state, plus the District of Columbia, with marriage equality. An appeals court has since struck down marriage equality bans in Nevada and Idaho. Judge Reinhardt says in the ruling that the bans violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment " because they deny lesbians and gays who wish to marry persons of the same sex a right they afford to individuals who wish to marry persons of the opposite sex". This paves the way for same-sex weddings in Montana, Arizona and Alaska, which also fall under the jurisdiction of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The momentum has sparked Australian marriage equality advocates to call on their Parliament to speed up the pace of reform. “The sooner legislation is introduced and the Coalition moves to a free vote, the sooner Australia can join the rapidly growing list of places with marriage equality,” says Australian Marriage Equality National Director Rodney Croome. “Most Australians will find it embarrassing that our laws offer less respect and fairness to same-sex relationships than places like Oklahoma and Utah.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 8th October 2014 - 9:31am