same-sex marriage

U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle has clarified that marriage licenses should be issued throughout Florida, not just in the county in which he ruled that it was unconstitutional not to give a same-sex couple permission to get married, BuzzFeed's Chris Geidner reports. The judge, however, said his current injunction applies only to couples who sued to have the right to marry, but he warned court clerks that "'the constitution requires" the issuance of marriage licenses and they could face more lawsuits in which plaintiffs could recover attorney fees and costs.

A conservative group called Florida Family Action is asking a judge to prevent Orlando's mayor, a county clerk of courts and other officials from officiating over same-sex nuptials or issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples when Florida's ban on same-sex marriage is set to expire next week, the Associated Press reports. Those officials are the only ones who have publicly said they plan to issue same-sex marriage licenses or preside over same-sex weddings.

FFA argues that the ban has only lifted in Washington County in Florida's Panhandle, where the lawsuit challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriage found success. Lawyers for the attorney general's office argued that U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle's decision only applies to the couple seeking a marriage license in Washington County and that instructions were never issued to all 67 court clerks, who are "independent constitutional" officers, across Florida, Christian Science Monitor reported.

The judge is expected to issue a clarifying order before the ban expires next week.

SCOTUSBlog's Lyle Denniston reports that the justices will take up a new round of same-sex marriage cases at their conference January 9: "At issue in the Sixth Circuit cases is a ruling by the appeals court for that region, upholding all of the bans on same-sex marriage licensing or recognition in the four states. At issue in the Louisiana case is a decision by a federal trial judge in New Orleans upholding that state’s ban on licensing and recognition."

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has proposed a rule that would require long-term care facilities to extend spousal rights to same-sex married couples, McKnight's Tim Mullaney reports. CMS said in the proposed rule "'our goal is to provide equal treatment to spouses, regardless of their sex, whenever the marriage was valid in the jurisdiction in which it was entered into, without regard to whether the marriage is also recognized in the state of residence or the jurisdiction in which the healthcare provider or supplier is located.'"

Even in states that don't recognize same-sex marriage, the stick to make facilities follow the rule would be that their funding from Medicare and Medicaid would be contigent on their obedience to the regulation.

The Hawai'i Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday on a challenge to a law authorizing same-sex marriage, the Associated Press' Jennifer Sinco Kelleher reports. The challengers to the law argue that legislators did not have the authority to pass the law because of a constitutional amendment.

Sabrina McKenna, the first openly gay Supreme Court justice in Hawai'i, recused herself.

The Washington Post's Supreme Court beat reporter Robert Barnes says that the regular pattern for the justices is to take a case before the end of January in order to set render a decision by the end of the term in June. While the court declined to take up the issue of same-sex marriage last fall, this time there is a split between circuit court of appeals on whether same-sex marriage bans are constitutional or not. Barnes notes a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit "upheld marriage bans in Michigan and Kentucky, and recognition bans in Ohio and Tennessee."

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.

U.S. District Judge Brian Morris ruled yesterday that Montana's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, the Los Angeles Times reports. He found that the state's constitutional ban on same-sex matrimony violated the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection.

NPR reports that a federal judge has overturned South Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage today. Richard Gergel, a federal judge in South Carolina, overturned an amendment to the South Carolina Constitution.

U.S. District Judge Robert Chambers struck down West Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional, the West Virginia MetroNews reports: "'The right to marry is a fundamental right, giving every individual the opportunity to exercise choice in this important relationship. As such, the government must not interfere in that choice unless it demonstrates compelling state interests and carefully tailors its restrictions to protect those interests,"' the judge said.

In contrast, the Sixth Circuit last week upheld same-sex marriage bans under the lowest level of constitutional scrutiny: rational basis. Other courts have often been applying greater constitutional scrutiny in striking down bans on same-sex marraige.