Gay rights group will ask high court to rule on same-sex marriage
Sending this to the SC is a must. This mess of conflicting laws must be settled once and for all!
SFGate
Gay rights group will ask high court to rule on same-sex marriage
Bob Egelko
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Hoping for a prompt U.S Supreme Court ruling that would allow gays and lesbians to marry in every state, a San Francisco gay rights group said Thursday it will join Utah in its request for high court review of a ruling that declared the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.
The National Center for Lesbian Rights is representing three Utah couples in the case, but is taking the unusual step of siding with its adversary because "there's no way for our plaintiffs or other same-sex couples to have equality or certainty without a nationwide ruling," said legal director Shannon Minter.
Utah on Tuesday became the first state to seek Supreme Court review of a ruling that said the Constitution guarantees the right to marry regardless of sexual orientation. While the high court typically waits for a disagreement among lower courts before taking up an issue, the same-sex couples' joinder in the request could increase the likelihood of a ruling in the term that starts in October.
A similar filing is due Friday from Virginia's Democratic attorney general, Mark Herring, who declined to defend his state's same-sex marriage ban in court but said he wants the Supreme Court to take up the issue. A federal appeals court ruled the Virginia ban unconstitutional July 28, and a county clerk who defended the law plans a separate appeal....
MORE at http://www.sfgate.com/lgbt/article/Gay-rights-group-will-ask-high-court-to-rule-on-5675540.php