# Recent spate of court rulings overturning gay marriage bans **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 20, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859 "2014-05-20T20:30:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/1 "2014-05-20T20:30:29Z")
Seems like within the past few weeks, there have a been a number of court rulings to effectively legalize gay marriage in numerous states: Arkansas, Oregon, Utah, Pennsylvania. And it appears that Maine, Ohio, and Wisconsin are around the corner. Is it coincidental that these cases are all coming on the heals of each other or was this a concerted planned effort by various judiciary? Just curious. _Personally in favor of gay marriage, but believe that it should be a state by state issue._ And if this is better suited in another forum, please move. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/2 "2014-05-20T20:50:20Z")
Wasn’t this because of the Windsor case, lots of gay couples immediately challenged the laws in various states? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/3 "2014-05-20T20:51:28Z")
I’d guess it was a concerted planned effort by varios folks who wanted to get married, but couldn’t. The judiciary pretty much has to wait until the cases come to them. Think about it. You’ve considered filing a case, but never did because you thought there was no way for it to succeed. Then a similar case is successful. What happens next? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/4 "2014-05-20T21:13:25Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I’d guess it was a concerted planned effort by varios folks who wanted to get married, but couldn’t. The judiciary pretty much has to wait until the cases come to them. > > Think about it. You’ve considered filing a case, but never did because you thought there was no way for it to succeed. Then a similar case is successful. What happens next? If it is as you describe, considering courts across the country run at various paces, the fact that these rulings all occurred within a few weeks of each other is more coincidence than anything else. Anybody else? ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/5 "2014-05-20T21:27:45Z")
I think it’s mostly because they were filed close together (Oregon 10/15/13, PA 7/9/13, Idaho Nov 13, AR 7/2/13). ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/6 "2014-05-21T00:16:47Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Seems like within the past few weeks, there have a been a number of court rulings to effectively legalize gay marriage in numerous states: Arkansas, Oregon, Utah, Pennsylvania. And it appears that **Maine** , Ohio, and Wisconsin are around the corner… (bolding mine) [Maine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_Maine) legalized same-sex marriage via a referendum back in 2012. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/7 "2014-05-21T01:28:30Z")
[One might argue that Scalia is one of the greatest (unwilling) heroes of SSM ever!!](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/judge-cites-scalia-pennsylvania-gay-marriage) Several Judges (if not all of them) striking down these bans have cited his dissent for the very reason of striking down said bans. Hows THAT for some schadenfreude? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/8 "2014-05-21T01:32:04Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > [One might argue that Scalia is one of the greatest (unwilling) heroes of SSM ever!!](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/judge-cites-scalia-pennsylvania-gay-marriage) > > Several Judges (if not all of them) striking down these bans have cited his dissent for the very reason of striking down said bans. > Hows THAT for some schadenfreude? 😃 That’s a beautiful thing. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/9 "2014-05-21T02:49:19Z")
Yes, it is a planned campaign by the group **Freedom to Marry**. they have actively encouraged couples in various states to file lawsuits. and have provided legal help to them. [Here is a list of their pending cases; they currently have one in the court sustem in every s](http://www.freedomtomarry.org/litigation)tate that does not allow equal marriage rights, except 2. No doubt they are working to find plaintiffs in those 2 states also. The Judiciary has nothing to do with the timing except that they are ruling on these cases as they reach that point in the judicial process in each state. Since they were often filed about the same time, they tend to reach a judges’ decision about the same time. And, of course, the judges do look at what other judges have said in similar cases. (Only they call it _precedent_ rather than _plagiarism_ when judges do it…) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/10 "2014-05-21T02:57:39Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > [One might argue that Scalia is one of the greatest (unwilling) heroes of SSM ever!!](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/judge-cites-scalia-pennsylvania-gay-marriage) > > Several Judges (if not all of them) striking down these bans have cited his dissent for the very reason of striking down said bans. > Hows THAT for some schadenfreude? 😃 Not sure why it would be schadenfreude when someone predicts something and then that something actually happens. To me, it looks more like “I told you so”. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/11 "2014-05-21T10:11:54Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Not sure why it would be schadenfreude when someone predicts something and then that something actually happens. To me, it looks more like “I told you so”. I think the idea is that Scalia’s prediction was itself used as an argument for SSM. Presumably that wasn’t his intent. Not sure if there’s a fancy German word for that. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/12 "2014-05-21T14:42:40Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Not sure if there’s a fancy German word for that. _Scaliafreude?_ ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/13 "2014-05-21T15:12:37Z")
_Weltschmaltz_? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/14 "2014-05-21T15:21:50Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Yes, it is a planned campaign by the group **Freedom to Marry**. [T]hey have actively encouraged couples in various states to file lawsuits. and have provided legal help to them. That’s not quite correct. Freedom to Marry is a community organizing group that has sought to partner with lawyers who, in many cases, had already recruited clients and brought suits challenging these laws. They offer communications and organizing assistance, but have not really orchestrated a national campaign as such, at least not any more so than any of the other groups working on this issue. These suits are the work of many different groups and individuals, most of whom are only collaborating in a very loose sense of the term. The timing is the result of many suits having been filed in the immediate wake of _Windsor_. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/15 "2014-05-28T17:22:45Z")
On a related issue, [NOM has gotten itself into a little legal imbroglio](http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/breaking-state-ethics-committee-rules-nom-broke-campaign-finance-law-imposes-record-fine/politics/2014/05/28/88177): > [@](#): > > The National Organization For Marriage (NOM) is guilty of breaking Maine’s campaign finance laws, and will be forced to pay a record fine and do the one thing it has worked extremely hard for five years to avoid: expose its donors. The Maine state Ethics Committee ruled unanimously today to fine NOM over $50,000 — the highest fine ever for a campaign finance violation in that state… ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/16 "2014-05-28T17:34:53Z")
I look forward to harassing and disrupting the businesses of the people who donate to that hate group! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/17 "2014-05-28T17:43:26Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > they have actively encouraged couples in various states to file lawsuits. and have provided legal help to them. [Here is a list of their pending cases; they currently have one in the court sustem in every s](http://www.freedomtomarry.org/litigation)tate that does not allow equal marriage rights, except 2. No doubt they are working to find plaintiffs in those 2 states also. Correct. [It’s now 49 states and it’ll be 50 soon.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/north-dakotas-same-sex-marriage-ban-to-be-challenged/2014/05/24/10d10b5c-e1ef-11e3-810f-764fe508b82d_story.html) ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/18 "2014-05-28T17:59:29Z")
What bothers me at a fundamental level is the Supreme Court. Go back 40+ years and a couple in Minnesota sued for marriage between two men using a lot of the exact same arguments used to overturn the gay marriage bans currently. In Baker v Nelson, SCOTUS dismissed the appeal["for want of a substantial federal question."](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker_v._Nelson#cite_ref-1) To me, this is disappointing that we have judges who are more echo chambers once the times have changed versus having done the correct thing by adhering to the constitutional standards that they are now applying. This should have happened 42 years ago. The Constitution hasn’t changed since then. It’s only the popularity of the decision. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/19 "2014-05-28T18:05:40Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Correct. [It’s now 49 states and it’ll be 50 soon.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/north-dakotas-same-sex-marriage-ban-to-be-challenged/2014/05/24/10d10b5c-e1ef-11e3-810f-764fe508b82d_story.html) So South Dakota is now \*officially \*the least fabulous state in the union? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859/20 "2014-05-28T18:43:25Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > So South Dakota is now \*officially \*the least fabulous state in the union? 😉 No, _North_ Dakota is the last state to file a case, making it the least fabulous state. South Dakota can rest easy, knowing it’s only the 49th least fabulous. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-spate-of-court-rulings-overturning-gay-marriage-bans/688859.md?page=2)