'Utah'! its time to recognize 'equality' for All.
Utah appeals court strikes down same-sex marriage ban in major ruling
By Bill Mears, CNN
updated 12:54 PM EDT, Wed June 25, 2014
(CNN) -- In a first, a U.S. appeals court has struck down a state ban on same-sex marriage, creating greater political and legal momentum for the Supreme Court to decide whether gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to wed.
It happened on Wednesday in Utah, where a panel ruled 2-1 against the prohibition, saying that any couple, regardless of sexual orientation, has the right to marry.
"We hold that the Fourteenth Amendment protects the fundamental right to marry, establish a family, raise children, and enjoy the full protection of a state's marital laws," the majority opinion said.
"A state may not deny the issuance of a marriage license to two persons, or refuse to recognize their marriage, based solely upon the sex of the persons in the marriage union," the court said.
The state could now ask the full 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the matter or proceed directly to the Supreme Court.
Separately on Wednesday, a federal judge in Indiana struck down that state's same-sex marriage ban. The next step there could be to an appeals panel.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/25/politics/same-sex-marriage/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
DO SOMETHING!
| 