Federal Appeals Court Hears Arguments in Six Marriage Cases from Four States

The Sixth Circuit Appeals Court will rule on marriage cases from every state in its jurisdiction

Today is yet another historic day on the marriage equality front. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is hearing oral arguments in six cases challenging the same-sex marriage bans of four different states. Those states are Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.

In recent months, federal judges have ruled that those states’ laws and constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage are unconstitutional.

Since June 2013, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down parts of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), there have been 19 federal court decisions nationwide against bans on marriage equality. In Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, the individual court decisions were all slightly different and each of those rulings has been appealed.

“What we’ve seen over the last year in court rulings from Idaho to Indiana is exactly the same as what’s happening around kitchen tables all across the country,” said Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). “Americans know that it’s wrong to tell two people in love they can’t get married, just because they’re gay or lesbian. And according to 19 federal court rulings, the U.S. Constitution agrees. This week the Sixth Circuit will be asked to decide whether state-imposed discrimination should continue, or if this nation’s most basic ideals of justice and equality shall prevail. We believe the couples and their incredible attorneys challenging these bans will prove that the state you call home should never determine your ability to marry the person you love.”


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