Another Win for Marriage in Oklahoma

Freedom to Marry reports:

Today the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled in favor of same-sex couples’ freedom to marry, upholding a marriage ruling out of Oklahoma in January. It is the second ruling by a federal appellate court since last year's victory in the Supreme Court and, unless reversed, will pave the way for the freedom to marry throughout the 10th Circuit, including in Colorado, Wyoming, and Kansas. Last month, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of marriage in a Utah case, Kitchen v. Herbert.

The ruling is stayed pending further action, which could include an appeal to the United States Supreme Court. The state of Utah has already said that it will ask the United States Supreme Court to review its case, which received a ruling from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals last month.

Full text of the case, Bishop v. Smith, here.

Photos and background of the four plaintiffs here.

And a news report on plaintiffs Mary Bishop and Sharon Baldwin's ten-year legal case, produced at the time of the district court's ruling in their favor last January:




And in other news, marriage equality in Utah must wait a while longer, USA Today reports:

In a minor victory for opponents of same-sex marriage, the Supreme Court ruled late Friday that Utah can ignore for now the marriages of more than 1,000 couples hitched there in late December and early January.

The apparently unanimous order blocked a decision issued by a federal district judge in May that required the state to recognize those marriages, even though it was appealing its loss on the broader question of allowing gay and lesbian marriages.

The state has since lost that appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, but it will ask the Supreme Court to take the case. (Oklahoma lost a similar appeal on Friday.) In the meantime, it won the court's blessing to keep those early marriages on hold.