WASHINGTON (AP) – Kansas, Montana and South Carolina leaders are fighting against same-sex marriages even though federal appeals courts that oversee those states have made clear that keeping gay and lesbian couples from marrying is unconstitutional.
Officials in the three states are refusing to allow same-sex couples to obtain marriage licenses without a court order directing them to do so. It could be another month or more before the matter is settled.
There seems little doubt that federal judges presiding over same-sex marriage lawsuits will ultimately set aside the states’ anti-gay marriage laws. The judges are bound by the appeals court rulings.