Oklahoma

Another state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage has been struck down. A federal judge ruled today that Oklahoma's ban on same-sex marriage violates the guarantee of equal protection in the U.S. Constitution, USA Today reports. The ban, the judge reasoned is "'an arbitrary, irrational exclusion of just one class of Oklahoma citizens from a governmental benefit,"' USA Today further reports. The ruling, unlike a similar one in Utah, was stayed for the inevitable appeal.

After the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down tort reform legislation because it contained multiple subjects in violation of the state constitution, state lawmakers are holding hearings on how judges are selected, the Associated Press reported. Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon said he believes "the Oklahoma Supreme Court has acted at times as a ‘Super Legislature. It is my opinion the court has attempted to derail laws and reforms that are not only constitutional, but benefit our great state and provide greater opportunity and freedom for our citizens," the AP reported. However, others argue that replacing a merit selection system with elections k"could lead to scandals similar to one in the 1960s in which state Supreme Court justices were accused of accepting bribes and fixing decisions," according to the AP.