A Third Appeals Court Upholds Equal Marriage Rights

There had already been two appeals courts to uphold a district judge's decision that banning marriages of same-sex couples was unconstitutional -- the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals (on cases from Utah and Oklahoma), and the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (on a case from Virginia). Now a third appeals court has done the same.

Cases from Indiana and Wisconsin had been appealed to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, and that court has now ruled that banning same-sex marriages violates the United States Constitution. The court stayed its decision to give those states time to appeal to the Supreme Court -- but unless some other appeals court decides differently, the Supreme Court might just decide to let the appeals court decisions to stand (and dodge the heat that would come with deciding the matter).

There was a federal judge in Louisiana that broke a string of 20 federal judge decisions on marriage equal rights by ruling the state of Louisiana had the right to ban same-sex marriages -- but that decision is rather moot. There is already a case on the matter pending before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (a case from Texas), and if that appeals court rules same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional, then that would apply to Louisiana also -- and if they decide the other way, it would just insure the Supreme Court will have to make the final decision.

I expect the Supreme Court will wait for a few more appeals courts to make their decision, before deciding whether they should take up the matter themselves. It would really be kind of pointless to take a case before knowing if all the appeals courts agree, or if one or more disagrees with the decisions already made.

This issue is finally coming to a head, and should be decided within the next two years -- either by all appeals courts agreeing, or by the Supreme Court finally making a decision.