Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor Puts Kansas Gay Marriages on Hold
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor temporarily stopped a lower court decision that would have allowed gay marriages in Kansas.
Justice Sotomayor issued a one-page preliminary injunction Monday per the request of Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, but she also directed the American Civil Liberties Union to respond to the stay.
"IT IS ORDERED that the preliminary injunction entered by the United State District Court for the District of Kansas on November 4, 2014, is hereby stayed pending receipt of a response, due on or before Tuesday, November 11, 2014, by 5 p.m. ET, and further order of the undersigned or of the Court," read the stay.
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The stay by Sotomayor came after the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals had denied Schmidt an earlier request. Sotomayor could reverse the stay after she receives the ACLU's response.
In 2005, Kansan voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative that added an amendment to the state constitution defining marriage as being between one man and one woman.
While gay marriage was already illegal in the state, Amendment 1 was passed with 71 percent of voters in support and 29 percent opposed.
The vote made Kansas one of over thirty states that approved similar amendments to their constitutions via popular referendum.
Since the 2013 Supreme Court decision Windsor vs. United States, however, a wave of judicial decisions against many state level bans have occurred.
In October, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit, known as Marie, et al., vs. Moser, et. al., on behalf of two lesbian couples against the constitutional amendment.
Last Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree issued an injunction on behalf of the lesbian couples, whose result was stayed pending further action until Veterans Day.
"Had Sotomayor not instituted the stay, same-sex couples would have been able to wed in Kansas starting Tuesday at 5 pm Central Time (7 pm Eastern Time) as a result of an order by U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree," reported Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade.
"It's still possible for same-sex couples to wed at that time if the Supreme Court acts quickly to lift its stay."
Sotomayor's stay in the Kansas lawsuit comes not long after the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals declared four states' bans on gay marriage constitutional.
In a two to one decision, the Sixth Circuit overturned lower court decisions against bans found in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.
Given that other appellate courts have ruled against the state bans, the overall legal dispute will likely be brought before the Supreme Court in the near future.
