Will not defend the ban

The trial of another United Methodist pastor has been set. More on my brother blog.

A group of Oklahoma United Methodist clergy have declared their support for the judge who struck down the state's gay marriage ban.



The ACLU has sued the state of Utah on behalf of the more than 1300 same-sex couples who married there in December and January. Gov. Herbert has declared the state will not recognize those marriages until the repeal process has been concluded. The ACLU says they were legal when the ceremony happened. They remain legal. The state must recognize them.



A same-sex marriage case will go before a judge (not sure at which level) in Virginia on January 30. Mark Herring, the state's Attorney General has said he will not defend the ban. He says it is unconstitutional. That leaves the defendant, a county clerk who refused to issue a license to the plaintiffs, scrambling for legal representation.



A legal battle between two drug companies gave us a bonus. As part of their wrangling over AIDS related drugs, one side dismissed a gay juror. That part of the tussle went before the 9th Circuit Court. They said that people cannot be excluded from a jury because they are gay. The 9th Circuit went on to declare that for all of its business it will require heightened scrutiny in gay discrimination cases. That means a state must have more than a rational reason for its discrimination. When denying gay people something the law must be narrowly constructed to a specific purpose of vital interest to the state that can't be achieved any other way. Which means in the 9th Circuit the standard reasons for discrimination against gays won't be able to pass constitutional muster. This is especially important when the court examines same-sex marriage bans.