Same-sex marriage nears reality in Oklahoma following Supreme Court move

Marriage equality in Oklahoma could come in a matter of days, if not hours.

Following the United States Supreme Court’s decision not to take up cases related to same-sex marriage, including an appeal in Oklahoma. a decision this summer from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals that Oklahoma’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional will become the law of the land.

The 10th Circuit Court put a stay on same-sex marriages in anticipation that the Supreme Court would be asked to hear the case. With the Supreme Court declining to take up the case, the stay will soon be lifted.

As reporters from various news outlets and marriage advocates seek to gain more information about what's next, here are some tweets and comments:

Legal experts were unsure whether the Supreme Court would take on the case of same-sex marriage this year, potentially settling the issue for good. By declining to take up the issue, those rulings from lower federal courts will not become the law of the land. The ruling that same-sex marriage is legal in Oklahoma by the 10th Circuit Court effectively made it legal in all states that are in the 10th Circuit, which includes Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, and portions of Montana and Idaho. This means same-sex marriage could become legal in all those states. Oklahoma voters approved a state ban on same-sex marriage in 2004, which resulted in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of that ban. The ban was declared unconstitutional by a state judge earlier this year, followed by the federal appeals court upholding that ruling over the summer. County clerks across Oklahoma are awaiting confirmation that same-sex marriage in Oklahoma is legal, which could come in the form of a mandate from the 10th Circuit Court as early as today.

 

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