This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/10/judge-says-arkansas-gay-marriage-ban-is-unconstitutional

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Gay marriage license issued in Arkansas after judge strikes down ban Gay marriage licenses issued in Arkansas after judge strikes down ban
(about 3 hours later)
An Arkansas clerk on Saturday issued the southern state's first gay marriage license, breaking a ban that voters put in place with a constitutional amendment 10 years ago. Fifteen marriage licenses were issued for same-sex couples in northwest Arkansas' Carroll County, deputy clark Jane Osborn said, on the first day since a judge ruled the state's gay marriage ban to be unconstitutional.
Carroll County Deputy Clerk Jane Osborn issued a license to Kristin Seaton and Jennifer Rambo of Fort Smith, Arkansas. Jennifer Rambo, 26, and Kristin Seaton, 27, were the first gay couple to be legally married in the state. They had arrived about 2am, sleeping in their car and waking every half-hour to make sure no one else would take a spot at the head of the line.
On Friday, judge Chris Piazza in Little Rock struck down the 2004 ban, saying there was no rational reason for it. Piazza did not issue a stay, so local clerks can decide whether to grant licenses. Most Arkansas courthouses are closed on Saturdays, but the one at Eureka Springs usually opens to issue marriage licenses. "Thank God," Rambo said, after Osborn issued her marriage license. The Fort Smith couple wed moments later on a sidewalk near the county courthouse; the officiant wore a rainbow-colored dress.
The state's Democratic attorney general Dustin McDaniel – who announced last week he supported the right of same-sex couples to marry but would nonetheless defend state law – said he would appeal the ruling to the state supreme court and asked it be suspended during that process. Pulaski County circuit judge Chris Piazza paved the way on Friday with a ruling that removed a 10-year-old barrier, saying a constitutional amendment overwhelmingly passed by voters in 2004 banning gay marriage was "an unconstitutional attempt to narrow the definition of equality”. Piazza's ruling also overturned a 1997 state law banning gay marriage.
About 10 couples lined up on Saturday morning outside the Eureka Springs courthouse in northwest Arkansas, despite the fact that it wasn't clear at the start of the day whether any same-sex licenses would be issued. On Friday Jack Wagoner, an attorney for the group of same-sex couples who challenged the prohibition, had said of his clients: "If I was them, I would be there waiting for the door to open.” Because Piazza didn't issue a stay, Arkansas' 75 county clerks were left to decide for themselves whether to grant marriage licenses.
Seaton, 27, and Rambo, 26, both of Fort Smith, Arkansas, were first in line on Saturday. They said they had been together four years. As dawn came, no one was certain that any clerk would issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple. Initially, deputy clerk Lana Gordon said she wasn't sure she had the authority and shooed the couples from her office.
Upon hearing about the judge's ruling, Seaton said her first thought had been: "Is this really happening?" The couple set out for the courthouse, but learned on the way there that it wouldn't be open on Saturday. Eureka Springs, a popular site for destination weddings in the Ozarks, was their next stop, after someone told them it was the most likely place to get a license. "We just walked out of here crying," Rambo said.
Seaton and Rambo slept in their car after arriving at 2am Saturday, waking up every 30 minutes to make sure they were at the head of the line. But once Osborn intervened, other same-sex couples let the couple return to their place in line.
Arkansas' amendment against gay marriage was passed in 2004, with the overwhelming support of voters. Piazza's ruling also overturned a 1997 state law banning gay marriage. In striking down the ban, Piazza wrote that it is "an unconstitutional attempt to narrow the definition of equality". "And some of these people here have been waiting 50 years and they still instructed us to come up front," Rambo said.
"The exclusion of a minority for no rational reason is a dangerous precedent," he said in his ruling. It wasn't immediately known whether any of the state's other 74 counties were issuing marriage licenses on Saturday. Several were open for early voting for the state's 20 May primary but said they were not prepared to issue marriage licenses.
The head of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest US lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights, praised Piazza's ruling. Piazza's lack of a stay caused confusion among the state's county clerks, said Association of Arkansas Counties executive director Chris Villines.
"The court didn't give us any time to get the kinks worked out," Villines said.
Attorney general Dustin McDaniel – who last week announced that he supported gay marriage but would nonetheless uphold state law – said he would appeal the ruling and asked it be suspended during that process. No appeal had been filed as of midday Saturday.
The US supreme court last year ruled that a law forbidding the federal government from recognising same-sex marriages was unconstitutional. Using language similar to that from the supreme court, state and federal judges nationwide have struck down other same-sex marriage bans.
Federal judges have ruled against marriage bans in Michigan, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Texas, and ordered Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.
Jerry Cox, president of the Arkansas Family Council, which promoted the gay-marriage ban in 2004, said Piazza's decision to not suspend his ruling would create confusion if a stay is issued later.
"Are these people married? Are they unmarried?" Cox said. "Judge Piazza did a tremendous disservice to the people of Arkansas by leaving this in limbo."
Arkansas' amendment was passed in 2004 with overwhelming support. Piazza, however,wrote: "The exclusion of a minority for no rational reason is a dangerous precedent.”
Among the people who let Rambo and Seaton back to the front of the line were Zeek Taylor, 67, and Dick Titus, 65, who have been together for 40 years. Taylor confronted Gordon about her closing the office before it was reopened, saying: "Your job is to issue marriage license to everyone that's here."
Gordon said that the complaint could be taken up with her boss
Paul Wank, 80, of Eureka Springs, interrupted the exchange, pointing his black cane at Gordon.
"You don't have to be hateful sir," Gordon told him.
"You've been hateful to people like me for years. So keep up," Wank said. "You're doing everything you can to stall."
On Friday, the head of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest US lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights, praised Piazza's ruling.
"This victory is an essential step on the journey toward full equality for all," said HRC president Chad Griffin, an Arkansas native."This victory is an essential step on the journey toward full equality for all," said HRC president Chad Griffin, an Arkansas native.
But the leader of the group that campaigned for the ban said the judge was undermining the will of voters.
"This ruling undermines marriage because once people start redefining marriage, there seems to be no place to stop," Arkansas Family Council president Jerry Cox said.
The US supreme court last year ruled that a law forbidding the federal government from recognising same-sex marriages was unconstitutional. Since then, lower-court judges have repeatedly cited the decision when striking down some of the same-sex marriage bans that were enacted after Massachusetts recognised gay marriage in 2004.
Federal judges have ruled against bans in Michigan, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Texas, and ordered Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee to recognise same-sex marriages from other states.
In all, according to gay-rights groups, more than 70 lawsuits seeking marriage equality are pending in about 30 states. Democratic attorneys general in several states – including Virginia, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Oregon and Kentucky – have declined to defend same-sex marriage bans.
Arkansas' ruling came a week after McDaniel became the first statewide elected official to announce that he personally supports gay marriage rights. Aaron Sadler, McDaniel's spokesman, said on Friday the attorney general sought the stay because "we know that questions about validity of certain actions will arise absent a stay".