Thursday, November 06, 2014

6th Circuit Court turns back attempt to overturn Kentucky's marriage law

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the Bourke and Love decisions which had overturned Kentucky's Marriage Amendment. Here is Justice Sutton, getting to the crux of the matter:
Not one of the plaintiffs’ theories, however, makes the case for constitutionalizing the definition of marriage and for removing the issue from the place it has been since the founding: in the hands of state voters.
This is a victory for republican democracy and a defeat for ideologues who want to use the courts as their own private political enforcement agency.

10 comments:

KyCobb said...

Apparently Judge Sutton has reversed Loving v. Virginia, which is remarkable since it was a Supreme Court decision and he is only a Circuit Court Judge. I would not be surprised if the full Sixth Circuit reverses in an en banc appeal.

Martin Cothran said...

KyCobb,

How does Loving overturn Baker v. Nelson?

KyCobb said...

I didn't say it did.

Martin Cothran said...

The only way Sutton could have reversed Loving by standing on the Supreme Court precedent in Baker is if Loving somehow reversed Baker. What does Loving have to do with this case at all?

Anonymous said...

Loving involved a man and woman denied a license because of color.. a clear 14th Amendment violation. Re-defining marriage is not the same thing, KyCobb.

KyCobb said...

Loving removed the definition of marriage from the hands of state voters.

Art said...

If a gay couple, legally married in, say, Washington, obtains (or converts) their auto insurance as a single policy for both to take advantage of marriage discounts, is their insurance valid in KY?

If so, isn't this an explicit acceptance, on the part of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, of gay marriage? If not, then how is this not a violation of Article 1 on the part of the Commonwealth?

KyCobb said...

Art,

Kentucky doesn't regulate the premiums out-of-state residents pay for their out-of-state insurance policies, even if they have an accident while driving in Kentucky.

Lee said...

> If a gay couple, legally married in, say, Washington, obtains (or converts) their auto insurance as a single policy for both to take advantage of marriage discounts, is their insurance valid in KY?

Are you suggesting that voters in KY are bound by the decisions of the voters in WA?

Art said...

kycobb, I am thinking that, if KY accepts as valid an insurance policy that explicitly grants status as a married couple, then KY is in fact accepting the martial status of the couple. This would be the case for gay married couples.

Lee, are you saying that such insurance policies should not be valid in KY? That, should such a driver from WA be stopped in KY, that they be subject to fines and penalties for driving without insurance?