Update on Marriage Equality in the US

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last year, you’ve probably noticed that state bans on marriage equality have been falling all over the country – ever since last summer’s Supreme Court decision ordering the federal government to recognize marriages granted by states that passed such laws through legislative acts or by court order. Every remaining state (all those that still ban same-sex marriage) all face legal challenges to overturn their bans.

As of this writing, LGBTQ couples can marry in 19 states and the District of Columbia. Here are how things stand in the remaining states:

— ARKANSAS: An Arkansas state judge struck down that state’s same-sex marriage ban on the grounds the state has “no rational reason” for preventing LGBTQ couples from getting married. The state Supreme Court issued a stay which halted (at least temporarily) Arkansas LGBTQ marriages while they consider an appeal by state officials. The state has until Sept. 8 to file its argument.

— COLORADO: A state judge struck down the state’s ban on marriage equality on July 9 but the ruling was put on hold pending appeal. Regardless of that hold, some county clerks began issuing marriage licenses to LGBTQ couples who managed to get married in that state. Colorado’s Republican attorney general, John Struthers, admits it’s only a matter of time until marriage equality is legal in Colorado, but that he vows to continue to defend the law and is appealing the ruling. All documents in the case must be turned over to the court by Oct. 20.

— FLORIDA: Judges in three counties have overturned the state’s gay marriage ban, but all stayed their rulings, meaning no marriage licenses will be issued for gay couples pending appeals. A separate lawsuit is pending in federal court seeking to overturn the gay-marriage ban statewide.

— IDAHO: State officials have vowed to appeal a decision from a federal judge overturning the state’s same-sex marriage ban. A federal appeals court is scheduled to hear arguments Sept. 8.

— INDIANA: A federal judge struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage in June, and hundreds of gay couples wed before the state appealed. Arguments are scheduled in federal court in Chicago on Aug. 26.

— KENTUCKY: Attorney General Jack Conway has said he will not defend the state’s ban on same-sex weddings, but the state hired outside attorneys to handle its appeal of a judge’s ruling that overturned the ban. It’s among several appeals that were heard by federal judges in Cincinnati on Wednesday.

— MICHIGAN: The 6th Circuit is reviewing Michigan’s same-sex marriage ban that was overturned by a federal judge in March following a rare trial that mostly focused on the impact of same-sex parenting on children.

— NEVADA: Eight gay couples are challenging Nevada’s voter-approved 2002 ban, which a federal judge upheld a decade later. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has scheduled arguments for Sept. 8.

— OHIO: The challenge to the state’s ban is one of several before the Cincinnati-based appeals court that heard them all Wednesday in a significant session in the wave of legal efforts around the country to overturn marriage bans.

— OKLAHOMA: An appeals court tossed the state’s ban on gay marriages last month but put its ruling on hold on hold pending an appeal, meaning same-sex couples can’t marry in Oklahoma for now. Gov. Mary Fallin has pledged to “fight back against our federal government when it seeks to ignore or change laws written and supported by Oklahomans.”

— TENNESSEE: A federal judge ordered the state to recognize three same-sex couples’ marriages while their lawsuit against the state works through the courts. Tennessee officials appealed the preliminary injunction to the 6th Circuit in the spate of hearings Wednesday.

— TEXAS: A federal judge declared the state’s ban unconstitutional, issuing a preliminary injunction. The state is appealing to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court in New Orleans, which is expected to soon set a date to hear arguments.

— UTAH: The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled this summer that Utah must allow gay couples to marry, finding the Constitution protects same-sex relationships, though it put the ruling on hold pending an appeal. The state filed its appeal Tuesday, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case and uphold the state’s ban.

— WISCONSIN: A federal judge in Madison struck down the state’s ban in June, leading to more than 500 same-sex marriages in the state before the judge put her ruling on hold. State prosecutors filed a brief with the 7th Circuit U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago late last month arguing that no fundamental right to gay marriage exists. The court will hear arguments late this month.

— VIRGINIA: A federal appeals court panel in Richmond ruled last week that the state’s voter-approved prohibition on gay marriage is unconstitutional. A county clerk has asked to delay the ruling while it’s appealed to the Supreme Court. If no delay is granted — though the court typically allows them — marriage licenses could be issued 21 days after the ruling.

— EVERYWHERE ELSE: Other states with court cases demanding recognition of gay marriage are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming. Most lawsuits challenge same-sex marriage bans or ask states to recognize gay marriages done in other states.