By John Mack Freeman
Another week, another round of advances in the fight for full marriage equality inside the United States. This week, three states had rulings handed down that expanded access to marriage across the country.
In South Carolina, a United States District Court threw out that state’s ban on same sex marriage as unconstitutional. The decision was immediately held until November 20th, and most people expect the state of South Carolina to appeal the decision. The full ruling can be read here.
The Supreme Court denied Kansas a stay on a ruling that found that state’s ban on same sex marriage unconstitutional. However, as has been the case in this entire drawn-out process, this has not immediately simplified matters. The Kansas state attorney general is maintaining that the ruling only applies in the two counties that the original case came from while the ACLU maintains that the ruling holds statewide. Another case in state court has muddied waters further because that case had stayed same sex marriages pending a decision by the state supreme court. So, same sex marriage is the law of the land in Kansas, depending on where you are, how sympathetic a county clerk you find, and which way the wind is blowing.
In Missouri, a federal district court judge struck down that state’s marriage ban as unconstitutional. However, the effect is stayed pending a likely appeal to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Missouri currently recognizes same sex marriages performed in other states.
