Ten states have filed a brief with the US Court of Appeals arguing that state bans on gay marriage are constitutional, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
The states — Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma and South Carolina — are joining with Utah, which saw its state ban unexpectedly knocked down by a federal court in December.
More than 1,000 gay couples in Utah married before the state could secure a temporary stay on the ruling. The 10 states will argue that Utah should be allowed to retain its ban on gay marriage.
Nevada, on the other hand, made a dramatic turn in its gay-marriage policy Feb 11 when the state decided to stop defending its ban on gay marriage in federal court.
Nevada voters brought in the gay-marriage ban by popular vote in 2002, but a group of eight same-sex couples have taken the law to federal court. Nevada’s Democratic attorney general, with the support of the state’s Republican governor, will now leave the case to be defended by outside anti-gay-marriage groups.
“Based upon the advice of the attorney general’s office and their interpretation of relevant case law, it has become clear that this case is no longer defensible in court,” Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval told Reuters.
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