Two Same-Sex Marriage Bans Struck Down in the Deep South

Two bans on same-sex marriage were struck down yesterday in Mississippi and Arkansas. According to the Associated Press' Emily Wagster Pettus, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves granted a preliminary injunction against Mississippi's statutory and constitutional bans on same-sex marriage. According to SCOTUSBlog's Lyle Denniston, U.S. District Judge Kristine G. Baker struck down Arkansas' ban even though the state officials said the issue was closed by a 2oo6 ruling from the Eighth Circuit, which has jurisdiction over Arkansas. Baker and a judge in Missouri "found that the precedent was not controlling, because the 2006 decision was based on other legal grounds and also hasd been overtaken by more recent constitutional developments," Denniston reports.