Supporters hold a pro-gay marriage rally outside the Utah State Capitol on January 28, 2014 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Several weeks ago a federal judge ruled unconstitutional a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage in the state of Utah. ; Credit: George Frey/Getty Images
Supreme Court makes waves across nation: Today, the highest court in the land refused to grant appeals from five states seeking to ban gay and lesbian marriages. In rejecting the cases, the Court effectively made legal same-sex unions in Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. Soon to follow- as they are bound by the same federal appeals rulings - Colorado, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming will have legal same-sex marriage, too. That adds up to 30 states, plus the District of Columbia, with legalized gay marriage. Activists on both sides of this debate were dismayed by the Court's decision.
Gay-rights proponent Evan Wolfson told the Associated Press that the Court's "delay in affirming the freedom to marry nationwide prolongs the patchwork of state-to-state discrimination and the harms and indignity that the denial of marriage still inflicts on too many couples in too many places."
Ed Whelan of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, an opponent of same-sex marriage, also chastised the court for its "irresponsible denial of review in the cases.”
What is reaction from more conservative states such as Utah? What other states are left in limbo? Why did the Court deny the challenges?
Guests:
David Savage, Supreme Court reporter, Los Angeles Times; LA Times: Supreme Court Clears Way for Gay Marriage in Several States
Dennis Romboy, Staff Reporter, Deseret News - based in Salt Lake City and owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints