Today the US Supreme Court declined to hear 7 same-sex marriage cases which have worked their way up through lower and appellate Federal courts. Each of these 7 cases ruled bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional, but each case currently had a stay on allowing same-sex couples to get marriage licenses.
With the US Supreme Court declining to hear these 7 cases, the appellate decision stands, and the stays go away. Thus, today same-sex marriage should be legal in VA, OK, UT, IN, and WI where appellate decisions have already been made regarding those states' bans. Other states will also likely be affected since they are in the appellate court jurisdictions governed by these rulings (NC, SC, WV, KS, CO, and WY).
Appellate courts that are expected to soon release their decisions soon that would affect:
6th Circuit: KY, OH, TN, and MI
9th Circuit: NV, ID, AZ, MT, and AK
With today's five new states, 51% of Americans live in states where same-sex couples will be able to legally wed. If marriage equality spreads to the 6 other states (WY, KS, CO, NC, SC, and WV), 58% of Americans will live in a state where same-sex couples can marry.
Note on the Sept. 10 map of ruling below:
There have now been two Federal court decisions in Louisiana: one upheld the state's ban on same-sex marriage; the other ruled it unconstitutional. Lower Federal rulings in the 5th (TX, LA and MS) and 11th (GA, AL, and FL) are still waiting to be reviewed by the appellate courts for those circuits.
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