For those of you interested in listening to the full Tenth Circuit Court hearing of today's arguments in Kitchen v. Herbert, the case challenging Utah's gay marriage ban, there is an audio recording HERE.

We reported a bit on the hearings earlier, and Chris Johnson has a bit more at the Washington Blade.

Here are Johnson's takes on the three judges:

Judge Carlos Lucero, a Clinton appointee, appeared most inclined to rule against Utah's ban on same-sex marriage. Noting the string of recent court decisions against similar bans, the judge expressed concern about children being raised by same-sex couples and wondered why a straight couple would be more likely to get married if gay couples were banned from marriage.

Lucero placed considerable emphasis on U.S. Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy's decision against the Defense of Marriage Act, saying the “expositive language” of the ruling “disavowed a decision predicated on federalism” allowing states to ban same-sex marriage.

…Judge Jerome Holmes, appointed by President George W. Bush, also seemed critical of the marriage ban. Holmes, who's black, asked why bans on same-sex marriage shouldn't be struck down because they affect a certain category of individuals — much like the 1969 Loving v. Virginia decision striking down interracial marriage bans.

…Paul Kelly, an appointee of President George H.W. Bush, seemed most inclined to uphold Utah's ban on same-sex marriage. Several times, he invoked the prerogative of Utah voters to define marriage through the democratic system without being overruled through the judicial process. At one point, he questioned why the court shouldn't also require polygamous marriages in Utah if it were to require same-sex marriages, saying, “It seems like it all goes together.”

Read his full report at the Blade…