California’s Supreme Court denies latest bid to halt same-sex marriages in state

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For the second time in eight days, California’s highest court has again refused to block same-sex marriages in the state.

On Tuesday, in a brief ruling, California’s Supreme Court said: “The request for an immediate temporary stay or injunctive relief is denied.”

But it will consider a petition arguing that a voter-approved equal marriage ban remains valid in all but two counties.

It comes as a petition of county clerks urged judges to exempt them from issuing marriages licences to same-sex couples, because many have refused to accept last month’s decision of the US Supreme Court regarding Proposition 8.

Others have no problem with the requirement to marry same-sex couples and have urged California’s Supreme Court to ignore the petition.

The US Supreme Court last month refused to rule on the case of Proposition 8, California’s state-wide ban on equal marriage. It therefore deferred to the District Court’s 2010 ruling, allowing same-sex weddings to resume.

California’s Supreme Court already refused to halt the resumption of same-sex marriages in the state earlier this month.

The back-and-forth over same-sex marriage in California has been playing out in the courts and in political forums for years.