Marriage News Watch, 10/6/14

Matt Baume of the American Foundation for Equal Rights reports:




Freedom to Marry has a live blog on today's momentous Supreme Court action here.  Couples are marrying in Colorado, Indiana, Virginia, Utah, and even Oklafreakinhoma as I type, it seems.  I'll update this post when I can find some good video coverage.


Update, 10/7, 8 a.m.:  Here's Gwen Ifill of PBS NewsHour summarizing yesterday's court action:



And Ifill leads further discussion of the issue with guests from about 7:40 to 20:00 in the full edition of NewsHour:




Amy Howe of SCOTUSblog provides an understandable analysis of the Court's doings in the article "First Monday surprise on same-sex marriage: In Plain English."

Wikipedia has numerous articles on same-sex marriage in the United States, which may or may not be reliable and up to date. Instead of posting the ugly, confusing Wikipedia map, here's one published by the Wall Street Journal, which is more helpful:

Click to enlarge

Update, 3 p.m.: Add Colorado to the list. Video here.


Update, 5:30 p.m.: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down marriage bans in Idaho and Nevada as violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Text of the ruling here. A delicious quote from page 21:

[Idaho Governor Butch Otter, one of the defendants] also states, in conclusory fashion, that allowing same-sex marriage will lead opposite-sex couples to abuse alcohol and drugs, engage in extramarital affairs, take on demanding work schedules, and participate in time-consuming hobbies. We seriously doubt that allowing committed same-sex couples to settle down in legally recognized marriages will drive opposite-sex couples to sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll.

Worth reading is David Cole's NYRB essay on the Supreme Court's "prudent statesmanship" in declining all the marriage cases.