First Gay Marriage Cases Reach Appeals Court Level

A federal appeals court is weighing in for the first time on state laws that define marriage as being between one man and one woman.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals heard the case involving Utah's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage Thursday. Next week, that same court will examine a lower court ruling that overturned Oklahoma's same-sex marriage ban.

The rulings on the two cases will likely head all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the stakes are still very high at this stage in the appeals process.

"The stakes are whether the people can continue to define marriage as between a man and a woman," Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Jim Campbell said, referring to the state marriage laws approved by millions of voters which have been overturned by only a handful of judges.

The Utah and Oklahoma cases come after last summer's U.S. Supreme Court decision ruling that parts of the federal law defining marriage as between one man and one woman are unconstitutional.

Since then, at least eight federal judges have struck down state bans on same-sex marriage or on the recognition of same-sex marriages from other states.

Despite the legal momentum in favor of homosexual activists, attorneys say it is very possible the 10th Circuit could rule against gay marriage backers and argue the issue is best settled at the ballot box.

Meanwhile, a federal judge ruled Thursday that Indiana must recognize a lesbian couple's marriage.    

They married in Maine, but Indiana defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The ruling prevents the state from enforcing Indiana's marriage law against the couple.

One of the women is dying and wants to have the marriage recorded on her death certificate. The ruling does not apply to any other lawsuits challenging Indiana's marriage law.
 
Meanwhile, the rapid pace of lawsuit filings against same-sex marriage bans continued Wednesday with a suit in North Carolina.