Despite judge’s ruling, clarity is needed on same-sex marriages in Kansas
.JPG "The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for more same-sex marriages in much of the country, but it’s unclear how that decision affects Kansas.")
The U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to hear cases that involve bans on same-sex marriages has muddled, at least for now, the issue in Kansas. Lower courts need to quickly bring some clarity to the situation, sweep away the legal roadblocks and permit these marriages to occur.
On Wednesday, a Johnson County judge said the district court clerk could issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
Like many observers of the Supreme Court ruling, Chief District Judge Kevin Moriarty basically was saying gay marriages were now legal in Kansas because the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has said bans on such unions in Utah violate the U.S. Constitution. Kansas and Utah are under the jurisdiction of the 10th Circuit.
However, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has said a court has not specifically ruled on the Kansas law that recognizes legal marriages only between members of the opposite sex. Gov. Sam Brownback also reiterated his support for the vote by Kansans in 2005 to establish that law. And judges in other Kansas counties have not yet followed Moriarty’s lead.
Because federal laws take precedence, though, the views of Schmidt, Brownback and others who want to keep the status quo in place don’t appear to carry much legal weight.
Schmidt particularly needs to decide whether he’s going to challenge the move in Johnson County and perhaps other counties that might decide to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
We urge him to follow the actions of West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. The Republican official said he would no longer defend that state’s voter-approved ban in light of the Supreme Court’s decision, which left in place a lower federal court’s pro-equality ruling on gay marriages in West Virginia.
As we noted recently, it would be best for the U.S. Supreme Court to clear up any confusion and rule in favor of same-sex marriages occurring in all states. Without that assistance, other federal courts must continue to provide their guidance by overturning unconstitutional state bans.
This story was originally published October 9, 2014 at 5:05 PM with the headline "Despite judge’s ruling, clarity is needed on same-sex marriages in Kansas."