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Arkansas, Mississippi overturn gay marriage bans | Fox News
Gay marriage bans in Mississippi, Arkansas overturned - LA Times
more steps in the right direction! Equal rights just cant stop winning! BE PROUD AMERICA!!!
:2usflag:
Judges Strike Down Arkansas, Mississippi Gay Marriage Bans - NBC NewsArkansas, Mississippi overturn gay marriage bans
In Arkansas, U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker ruled in favor of two same-sex couples who had challenged the amendment. They argued the ban violated the U.S. Constitution and discriminated based on sexual orientation."The fact that Amendment 83 was adopted by referendum does not immunize it from federal constitutional scrutiny," Baker wrote in her ruling. The state's marriage laws and the amendment violate the U.S. Constitution by "precluding same-sex couples from exercising their fundamental right to marry in Arkansas, by not recognizing valid same-sex marriages from other states, and by discriminating on the basis of gender," Baker wrote.
U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves wrote in his ruling, "The Fourteenth Amendment operates to remove the blinders of inequality from our eyes. Though we cherish our traditional values, they must give way to constitutional wisdom. Mississippi's traditional beliefs about gay and lesbian citizens led it to defy that wisdom by taking away fundamental rights owed to every citizen. It is time to restore those rights.""Today's decision may cause uneasiness and concern about the change it will bring," he wrote. "But "'(t)hings change, people change, times change, and Mississippi changes, too.' The man who said these words, Ross R. Barnett, Jr., knew firsthand their truth."
Gay marriage bans in Mississippi, Arkansas overturned - LA Times
more steps in the right direction! Equal rights just cant stop winning! BE PROUD AMERICA!!!
:2usflag: