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October 7, 2014

In Victory for Marriage Equality, Supreme Court Rejects Appeals from 5 States 
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The Supreme Court has dealt a major victory for marriage equality by
rejecting appeals from five states that sought to ban same-sex marriage.
The decision leaves intact lower-court rulings that struck down same-sex
marriage bans in Virginia, Utah, Oklahoma, Indiana and Wisconsin. Rob
Mac Pherson, a plaintiff in the Indiana case, celebrated the ruling with
his husband, Steven Stolen.

Rob Mac Pherson: "We've been together for 27 years, and this just kind
of makes it official. And we can check a few boxes and get some health
insurance for Steven, because he needed health insurance; they can't
deny that for me anymore, or for him anymore, and our daughter is
protected if something happened to us. So, that's the most awesome
thing."

Within hours of the ruling, county clerks across the five states began
issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Supreme Court's
decision will also expand same-sex marriage rights to six additional
states which are covered by the same federal appeals courts as the
initial five: Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, West Virginia, North Carolina
and South Carolina. That will bring the total number of states where
same-sex marriage is legal to 30 — a majority of the country.

 

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