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10th Circuit Concludes Oral Argument in Landmark Oklahoma Case


New York–(ENEWSPF)–April 17, 2014.  Today a three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver heard oral arguments in Bishop v. Smith, a federal case challenging Oklahoma’s ban on marriage for gay couples. The same panel presided over a landmark Utah marriage case last week. The cases, which have been expedited, are the first to be heard by a federal appellate court since last year’s historic Windsor decision.

Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, released the following statement:

“Once again, it was clear in the light of a Denver courtroom that there is no good reason for denying loving couples like Mary Bishop and Sharon Baldwin the freedom to marry. The 10th Circuit now has two freedom to marry cases before it, and other federal appellate courts will be hearing more in the weeks to come. But every day marriage is denied is a manifest hardship and unfairness for families and we hope the appeals courts will swiftly affirm the unanimous wave of lower-court rulings in favor of ending marriage discrimination. It’s time for the freedom to marry throughout America, and America is ready.”

The Oklahoma marriage case is the oldest active marriage case in America, filed in 2004.

Freedom to Marry is the campaign to win marriage nationwide. We are pursuing our Roadmap to Victory by working to win the freedom to marry in more states, grow the national majority for marriage, and end federal marriage discrimination. We partner with individuals and organizations across the country to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and the protections, responsibilities, and commitment that marriage brings.

Source: http://www.freedomtomarry.org

 


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