Gay marriage supporters to appeal ruling upholding Louisiana ban
Advocates of same-sex marriage are planning to appeal against a ruling which upheld the US state of Louisiana’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Prior to that, since the US Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) last year, every ruling had been in favour of same-sex marriage.
Despite the massive amount of precedent from nearly 20 other federal judges, the Reagan-appointed judge claimed that same-sex marriage supporters had failed to prove that the ban violates the Constitution.
Attorneys are now gearing up to appeal, said they were not sure exactly which avenue to take, but that there are several options.
Dalton Courson, an attorney who fought to have the ban overturned, spoke at a press conference yesterday, saying: “There are long, consistent line of cases from the various federal courts since the Windsor decision last summer finding that couples have a right to get a marriage license or have their marriages recognised in their home states.”
In his ruling, the judge also wrote that states themselves have a right to define marriage – dissenting with nearly other court ruling on the issue of the past year.
Despite that attorneys for the same-sex couples who brought the case say they will appeal, the Supreme Court is likely to take up another marriage equality case before the challenge is resolved.
