Courts in at least two states dealt with the thorny problem of swiss-cheese laws surrounding marriage equality this past week.
In Ohio, a federal judge struck down part of the state’s ban on LGBT marriage by ordering the state to recognize out-of-state marriages. To give time for appeals, Judge Timothy Black said he will issue the ruling on April 14. One of the women in four couples who sued is pregnant with the couple’s second child and is scheduled to deliver in June. Ohio is already required to recognize out-of-state LGBT marriages on death certificates with an appeal pending in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
In Michigan, state officials in Michigan asked the 6th U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to put the question of marriage equality before the full, en banc court without waiting for different three-judge panels to rule. All four states (Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee) within the Sixth Circuit’s geographic area now have appeals on that issue pending at the appeals court. En banc review would most probably lead to an earlier appeal to the Supreme Court.
Is marriage in international waters legal for federal recognition?