In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to halt same-sex marriages in Alabama, gay couples in two other states are asking federal judges to allow them tie the knot immediately.
Attorneys for same-sex couples in Missouri and South Dakota filed motions this week asking federal courts to lift stays on decisions striking down same-sex marriage bans.
Both motions note that the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly denied motions to stay lower court decisions striking down marriage bans, most recently in Alabama.
From the South Dakota motion:
"Here, while the Defendants have not shown that South Dakota would suffer any harm in the absence of a stay, the challenged laws are continuing to cause serious and irreparable harm to Plaintiffs and other same-sex couples and their children every day that the bans remain in effect. In addition, the stay on judgment is causing continued insecurity, vulnerability, and stigma. The purpose of marriage is, in large part, to provide security and protection in the face of anticipated and unanticipated hardships and crises—e.g., in the face of death, aging, illness, accidents, incapacity, and the vicissitudes of life. Indeed, Plaintiffs in the case have dealt with such issues during the pendency of this litigation. This harm is not speculative, but immediate and real."
The South Dakota motion was filed in the same federal district court where Judge Karen Schreier struck down the state's marriage ban last month.
The Missouri motion was filed in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is considering the state's appeal of a decision striking down the marriage ban. The 8th Circuit agreed to expedite the appeal last month but declined to lift the stay. Same-sex couples can already marry in St. Louis thanks to a state circuit judge's ruling striking down the marriage ban.
Elsewhere, the 4th Circuit placed on hold appeals of a federal district judge's decision striking down North Carolina's marriage ban, pending the U.S. Supreme Court's consideration of marriage cases from four other states.
Read the Missouri and South Dakota motions, AFTER THE JUMP …
