Oklahoma News Roundup

On Tuesday, a federal judge in Oklahoma struck down the state's marriage ban for same-sex couples. The ruling is stayed pending appeal.

From The Associated Press:

A federal judge struck down Oklahoma's gay marriage ban Tuesday, but headed off any rush to the altar by setting aside his order while state and local officials complete an appeal.

[...]

There are currently 43 same-sex lawsuits in courts, with 27 of those in federal court, said Camilla Taylor, marriage project director at Lambda Legal, a civil rights organization. Oklahoma's ban on same-sex marriage is the third to be struck down by a federal judge, after California and Utah. State courts also ruled in favor of same-sex marriage in New Mexico in December and New Jersey in October.

Read the full article here.

From The Associated Press:

Camilla Taylor, marriage project director at the national civil rights organization Lambda Legal, said momentum has been increasing as litigators see that gay rights groups are winning same-sex marriage cases. She said there are currently 43 gay marriage lawsuits in courts, and a new one is brought almost every week.

Not including Utah and Oklahoma, 27 states still have constitutional prohibitions on same-sex marriage. Four more – Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wyoming – do not permit it through state laws.

Read the full article here.

From The Associated Press:

As gay-rights groups win cases around the country, the victories lead to more lawsuits, said Camilla Taylor, marriage project director at the national civil rights organization Lambda Legal. [...]

The latest came from four couples in Arizona who filed a lawsuit Jan. 6 challenging the state’s gay marriage ban two weeks after the Utah ruling.

Read the full article here.

From the Dallas Voice:

Ken Upton, Lambda Legal supervising senior staff attorney in the South Central office, called the decision an interesting, conservative opinion. He said he thought the Oklahoma ruling would be easier for an appeals court to uphold than the Utah ruling. He said Oklahoma might try to consolidate the cases so it would have input in the Utah case, which is already in the courts. Utah may or may not want Oklahoma involved because it would slow down the case. Both states are in the 10th Circuit, so a decision in either case would affect both.

Read the full article here.