Current Affairs

US: Kansas asks court to block ruling in favour of same-sex marriage

Nov 07 2014
Written by Joseph McCormick

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a pink background.

After a ruling ordering the state to stop enforcing its same-sex marriage ban, Kansas has now asked for a stay to be issued to temporarily block the ruling.

Kansas was earlier this week ordered by a federal judge to stop enforcing a ban on gay and lesbian couples marrying.

US District Judge Daniel Crabtree ruled today that the states’s ban violates the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution.

The Kansas Attorney General’s office on Thursday filed the request with the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The ruling was set to take effect on 11 November, in one week, unless the state decides to appeal against it.

In the ruling, Judge Crabtree noted an earlier ruling by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which “protects the fundamental right to marry, establish a family, raise children, and enjoy the full protections of a state’s marital laws.”

The case against Kansas was brought by the ACLU in Kanas on behalf of same-sex couples who had been denied marriage licences across two counties.

The state hopes the decision by Judge Crabtree will be halted until an appeals court can rule.