By John Mack Freeman
After a few weeks of not much happening from the courts due to the holidays, this week had three major developments in the ongoing judicial struggle for full same sex marriage recognition. This past Monday, Florida started celebrating same sex unions across the state after state Attorney General Pam Bondi lost an appeal to stay the effects of the ban being struck down. In other news:
Idaho: The Ninth Circuit denied the state’s request for an en banc review of the ruling that overturned that state’s ban on same sex marriage. An en banc review is an 11 judge panel rather than the three judges that originally examined the issue. The ruling was expected, but Governor Otter and Idaho may continue to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Georgia: My home state, so I’m always anxious when news comes out. A federal judge has denied a request to dismiss a lawsuit challenging Georgia’s same sex marriage ban.
Fifth Circuit (Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas): A three judge panel of the Fifth Circuit heard arguments related to same sex marriage bans last Friday. Court watchers believe that the court is poised to strike down the bans as unconstitutional on a 2-1 split. The court argued during its questioning that the bans did not pass a rational basis test, and as such, may not be constitutional.
