First Court of Appeals decision striking down same-sex marriage ban

Since the Supreme Court's June 26, 2013, decision in Windsor v. United States, holding the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional as an affront to the equality of same-sex couples, litigation has multiplied. The Court emphasized in Windsor that it was NOT holding that states had to allow same-sex marriages: "This opinion and its holding are confined to . . . lawful marriages," it said. In many states, then, challenges to bans on same-sex marriage have proceeded. And so far, each federal district court court to address the question has found that marriage equality is constitutionally compelled. Today, the first appellate decision joined that crowd. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the same-sex marriage ban in Utah. All those decisions, and lots of background on the cases, are part of the Clearinghouse's large collection of same-sex marriage cases, available here.