US: Appeals court to hear arguments around Virginia same-sex marriage ban

An appeals court in the US state of Virginia will today hear arguments around the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.

Judge Arenda Wright Allen struck down a law banning same-sex marriage in the state in February, but delayed enforcement of the ruling while it is appealed.

A brief filed by attorney general Mark Herring last month, states that gay couples have the same constitutional right to marry as straight ones.

Herring said Judge Wright Allen was right in citing the 1967 Supreme Court case which which invalidated state laws which prohibited interracial marriage.

A three judge panel at the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals will today review the decision of Judge Wright Allen.

The panel will decide whether her decision to strike-down the 2006 voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

• Nov 29 2023

56 celebrities you didn’t know are gay, bisexual or lesbian