Marriage equality update

Compiled by The Gayly from the AP wire, with additional information from The Gayly staff.

November has been an exciting time for marriage equality. Both Hawaii and Illinois, by votes of their legislatures, approved same-sex marriage. Hawaii’s starts on December 2; Illinois currently is scheduled for June 1, 2014. However, there are efforts to move that date up.

In other states:

Pennsylvania

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal judge Friday set June 9 as the trial date for a lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania's gay-marriage ban after rejecting a request to delay the proceeding.

Pennsylvania is the only northeastern state that bars same-sex marriage. Nationally, Illinois this week joined 15 other states and the District of Columbia in allowing it.

State Attorney General Kathleen Kane, a Democrat who took office in January, has refused to defend the law in court, saying it violates the state and federal constitutions.

West Virginia

WV AG to intervene in gay marriage case 
BROCK VERGAKIS, Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Republican West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's Office said in a motion Friday that it wants to defend in federal court the state's ban on same-sex marriage.

New York-based gay rights group Lambda Legal contends West Virginia's Defense of Marriage Act violates the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Huntington in October on behalf of three same-sex couples and the child of one couple.

Lambda Legal argues West Virginia's ban unfairly discriminates against same-sex couples and their children. In addition to its own ban, the state doesn't recognize same-sex marriages that occurred in other states. The organization says its clients are denied the legal sanction, societal respect, financial protections and other support that marriage gives to heterosexual couples.

Arkansas

County clerk asserts gay marriage lawsuit a state issue 

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A county clerk said Thursday that a federal lawsuit challenging Arkansas' 2004 ban on same-sex marriages should be dismissed and the issue should be considered in state court.

Pulaski County Clerk Larry Crane said in court papers that a lawsuit filed by three gay couples in July mimics one filed by 11 couples in state court. He said a state court should have the chance to address the issue before a federal court gets involved.

"A decision (in the separate state case) striking down the state strictures against same-sex marriage will fully resolve the claims of all plaintiffs," Crane wrote. "A decision ... adverse to those plaintiffs is appealable to the U.S. Supreme Court."

Arkansas voters in 2004 approved a constitutional amendment that defines marriageas between one man and one woman. It passed by a 3-to-1 margin.

Tennessee

Couples in gay marriage suit seek injunction 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Four same-sex couples are asking a federal judge for a preliminary injunction that would force Tennessee to recognize their marriages.

The couples filed a suit in U.S. District Court in Nashville last month challenging Tennessee laws that prohibit recognition of same-sex marriages. They claim in court filings that the laws violate constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process.

The request for the injunction would apply only to the four couples who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit. If approved, it would be in effect while their case works its way through the courts.

A spokeswoman for the state attorney general's office said in an email that attorneys there are reviewing the filing and are prepared to defend Tennessee law and the state constitution.

Indiana

Marriage, education fights may crowd 2014 session 
TOM LoBIANCO, Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana's legislative leaders are holding their cards tight as they prepare for a battle over amending the state constitution to ban gay marriage.

House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said Monday that he expects some sort of conclusion by the end of the General Assembly's 2014 session. Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said he still is polling his members before deciding how to handle the issue.

Indiana already limits marriage to being between one man and one woman, but supporters of a constitutional amendment say it is needed to prevent a court from overturning state law. Bosma and Long both said Monday the issue is not a top priority in either chamber, where they oversee large Republican majorities.

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The Gayly – November 23, 2013 @ 1:30pm