JACKSON, Miss. – Any day now a federal judge could place an injunction on Mississippi’s ban on same-sex marriage. If that happens, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant says he will appeal the case to the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“I think General Hood has done a really good job on presenting the state side on this issue. This is something that the people of the state of Mississippi voted overwhelmingly to support. Now a federal judge is saying he believes it is unconstitutional. It’s in the courts. We will certainly turn to the attorney general to put up a vigorous defense and an appeal,” said Bryant.
In 2004 a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage was approved by voters with overwhelming support in 2004. Nov. 13 federal Judge Carlton Reeves, who was appointed in 2010 by President Obama, heard nearly five hours of testimony seeking to halt the state’s ban.
“Not a single Clinton- or Obama-appointed judge has ruled in favor of marriage laws since U.S. v. Windsor,” John Eastman, chairman of the anti-gay marriage group National Organization for Marriage, told the Clarion-Ledger . “I’d be surprised if Reeves became the first one.”
During the Nov. 13 court hearings, state attorneys asked Judge Reeves for a stay. If a stay is granted, an injunction would be suspended, preventing same-sex couples from marrying while the state appeals to the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
If a stay is not granted, same sex couples would be able to marry immediately after an injunction ruling.
