Today a three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that state bans on marriage rights for same-sex couples are unconstitutional. In a decision authored by Judge Reinhardt, who was joined by Judge Gould and Judge Berzon, the court found that Idaho and Nevada’s marriage bans violate the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on the basis of equal protection. Judge Reinhardt writes, “Plaintiffs are ordinary Idahoans and Nevadans. One teaches deaf children. Another is a warehouse manager. A third is an historian. Most are parents. Like all human beings, their lives are given greater meaning by their intimate, loving, committed relationships with their partners and children.”
“At the end of the day, it shouldn’t matter what state you call home,” said Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “All Americans deserve the right to marry the person they love. Today’s ruling in the Ninth Circuit affirms that the U.S. Constitution doesn’t allow for states to pick and choose which of its citizens are entitled to certain rights, and which are not.”
The defendants in Idaho now have the option to request an en banc appeal before the full bench of the Ninth Circuit, which decides whether or not to grant that request. They may also bypass an en banc session and appeal directly to the Supreme Court. Marriage equality will soon become law in Nevada, as the proponents of the ban do not have standing to appeal today’s ruling to the Supreme Court and the governor and attorney general of that state have withdrawn their opposition to the challenge.
Montana, Alaska and Arizona – all states that fall within the Ninth Circuit’s jurisdiction and have marriage bans in place – are not immediately effected by today’s ruling.
Yesterday the nine justices of the Supreme Court announced they had declined to hear any of the cases pending before them challenging state bans on marriage for same-sex couples. This allowed the circuit court decisions striking down the bans to stand, meaning same-sex couples in Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, Wisconsin and Indiana are now able to legally marry. In addition, it leaves in place the circuit court rulings from the Fourth, Seventh and Tenth Circuits, meaning couples in West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas and Wyoming will soon be able to marry as well.
