Almost a week after the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage the law of the land, a series of rulings have paved the way for same-sex marriage licenses to be issued in the states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued three opinions today, one in Texas, one in Mississippi, and one in Louisiana, according to Buzzfeed's Chris Geidner.
For Texas, today's ruling affirmed a February 2014 injunction which prevented the State of Texas from implementing its ban on same-sex marriage in light of last week's Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. In the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling, the district court in Texas that had originally implemented the injunction lifted the stay on the injunction; it's that decision that the Fifth Circuit Court upheld today.
On Sunday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a statement allowing county clerks the right to refuse issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on the grounds of religious objections. But in a letter dated June 30, Texas solicitor general Scott Keller, under Paxton, actually conceded the case. But all indications are that Paxton's fight will continue on grounds of religious objections.
Ken Paxton concedes marriage case at 5th Cir & says final judgment against state is appropriate. #txlege pic.twitter.com/gBfmOHEdNl— Michael Li (@mcpli) July 1, 2015
The decision in Mississippi was similar to that in Texas. In November 2014, a district court ruled in favor of an injunction to block that state's same-sex marriage ban but the injunction was stayed pending appeal. Today's decision affirms the original injunction and vacates the stay.
In the Louisiana case, the circuit court reversed a previous ruling that had upheld that state's ban on same-sex marriage.
Breaking: 5th Circuit rules in Louisiana marriage case: "REMANDED for entry of judgment in favor of the plaintiffs" pic.twitter.com/44EZgiPrJD— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) July 1, 2015
A deadline of July 17, 2015 -- or earlier, if possible -- to finalize the judgement has been set in all three cases. All three opinions also included the following passage:
Obergefell, in both its Fourteenth and First Amendment iterations, is the law of the land and, consequently, the law of this circuit and should not be taken lightly by actors within the jurisdiction of this court. We express no view on how controversies involving the intersection of these rights should be resolved but instead leave that to the robust operation of our system of laws and the good faith of those who are impacted by them.
And in a separate case, a federal judge ruled that Alabama probate judges could no longer refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. It's the latest ruling in a confusing back-and-forth in a state that had its same-sex marriage ban struck down earlier this year. Yet, despite last week's Supreme Court ruling and this week's ruling, six counties continue to refuse issuing same-sex marriage licenses on the grounds of religious objections.