same-sex marriage

The Columbus Dispatch reports on the latest victory for same-sex marriage: Ohio now must recognize other state's same-sex marriages. "A federal judge’s ruling that Ohio must recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states is expected to open the door to a variety of issues, including bereavement leave, health-care decisions, taxes and survivor benefits," the Dispatch further reports. Ohio's statewide ban on same-sex marriage remains intact.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Black ordered Ohio to recognize same-sex marriages from other states, calling the ban "arbitrary discrimination," WKSU Public Radio reports. The order is a global one in comparison to an order in Indiana from late last week that allowed for recognition of an out-of-state same-sex marriage because one spouse has stage 4 ovarian cancer.

A federal judge has ordered Indiana to recognize the out-of-state marriage of a same-sex couple because one of the women has stage 4 ovarian cancer, the Associated Press reports. The court issued a temporary restraining order specific to just that couple. One of the couple's concerns is being able to access the safety net "available to a surviving spouse and the children of the person who has died," the AP reports.

The first appellate court to hear arguments in one of the cases striking down same-sex marriage bans was heard today.

The three-judge panel on the Tenth Circuit appeared split during oral argument on a lower-court ruling striking down Utah's ban on same-sex marraiage, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The state is arguing that children do better if they are parented by a mother and father, not same-sex parents, the Tribune further reports.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the case of a New Mexico wedding photographer who refused to work at a same-sex wedding ceremony, USA Today reports: "The case would have posed an important constitutional question with potentially sweeping implications: whether merchants whose products are inherently expressive must serve customers even when it conflicts with their beliefs." The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled that turning down customers on the basis of sexual orientation violates the state's anti-discrimination law.

A federal judge is planning to strike as unconstitutional "'under all circumstances'" Ohio's ban on same-sex marriage, Reuters reports. U.S. District Judge Timothy Black previously ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in order to allow same-sex widowers married outside of Ohio to be listed on their husbands' death certificates, Reuters also reports.

Last year, a Colorado judge ruled that a baker violated Colorado law when he declined to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, the Associated Press reports in an interesting profile of the deeply-felt beliefs of the couple that was refused service and the baker who refused them service becuase of his Christian beliefs. The judge ruled that the state law that forbids refusal of service based on sexual orientation was violated, the AP further reports. 

A deceased Alabama man's same-sex spouse is seeking to overturn Alabama's ban on same-sex marriage and have their marriage in Massachusetts recognized for purposes of settling his estate, the Associated Press reports. But the man's mother opposes same-sex marriage and has intervened to prevent her son's estate being shared with his widower.

After a federal judge struck down Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage last week, 100 couples who wed in the 24 hours or so after the decision are now in legal limbo, the Detroit Free Press reports. The Sixth Circuit issued an order late on Saturday to stay the lower court ruling declaring the ban unconstitutional.  An estimated 300 same-sex marriage licenses were issued in Michigan. And the state also has not decided if it will recognize marital rights for same-sex couples who wed.

"Dan Ray, a constitutional law professor at Thomas Cooley Law School, said the marriages that were performed before the stay was issued are valid," the Free Press further reports.

Eugene Volokh and Ilya Shapiro, writing in the Wall Street Journal, say that they support same-sex marriage but that a discrimination case against New Mexico photography business owners who don't want to photograph same-sex wedding and commitment ceremonies would make bad law. The New Mexico Human Rights Commission, in a decision upheld by the New Mexico Supreme Court, found that Elane Photography is subject to state's antidiscrimination law and must accommodate the public. "Creators of expression have a First Amendment right to choose which expression they want to create," they argue.

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether to take up the case later this month.