A US appeals court on Tuesday struck down same-sex marriage bans in Idaho and in Nevada, the latest in a nearly unbroken string of courtroom victories for gay couples.
The decision, by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, in San Francisco, came a day after the Supreme Court allowed similar rulings by three other appeals courts to stand, clearing the way for same-sex marriage to start immediately in Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin, and to be extended soon to six other states in those circuits.
“The lessons of our constitutional history are clear: Inclusion strengthens, rather than weakens, our most important institutions,” Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote in the three-judge panel’s unanimous ruling. “When same-sex couples are married, just as when opposite-sex couples are married, they serve as models of loving commitment to all.”
Tuesday’s decision will lend impetus to marriage-ban challenges in Alaska, Arizona and Montana, which are also in the 9th Circuit.
Hours later, the appeals court issued mandates to implement the ruling. As a result, Idaho could begin authorizing the marriages this week, although Governor Clement Leroy Otter said that the court’s decision was “disappointing” and that state officials were evaluating how to respond.
In Nevada, Governor Brian Sandoval and state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said it could be two weeks before a final order is issued by a US District Court judge, but at least one county clerk said she would start issuing the marriage licenses yesterday.
The Idaho case was brought by four same-sex couples who were represented by private lawyers and by the National Center for Lesbian Rights. In the Nevada case, several couples were represented by Lambda Legal.
In its decision, the appeals court found that marriage restrictions in Idaho and in Nevada imposed “profound legal, financial, social and psychic harms” on gay couples and their children, and dismissed as “without merit” the assertion by both states that bans on same-sex marriage promote the welfare of children.
“Plaintiffs are ordinary Idahoans and Nevadans,” the court wrote. “Like all human beings, their lives are given greater meaning by their intimate, loving committed relationships with their partners and children.”
The three judges on the panel were appointed by Democratic presidents: Jimmy Carter appointed Reinhardt, and Bill Clinton appointed judges Ronald Gould and Marsha Berzon.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was