There was one favorable marriage equality ruling this week. Actually, it was a reaffirmation of a previous ruling that the judge had made earlier in the year. A
Florida state circuit judge (from Broward County) ruled that the state's marriage ban(s) on same-sex couples was unconstitutional. The judge had originally ruled the same way back in August, however he later vacated the ruling because AG Pam Bondi had not been properly notified of the lawsuit. Well, it's now official. There is no word yet whether or not AG Bondi will go to the SCOTUS for a stay in the federal marriage equality case. The current stay in that case expires on January 5, 2015.
In Missouri, state legislators had sought intervention in a state marriage recognition case, and now the judge has ruled that he no longer has jurisdiction of that case. Therefore, he denied their request. In the federal marriage equality case, the plaintiffs have asked the Eighth Circuit to vacate the stay in that case or to expedite the appeal process.
A federal district court judge in Texas has denied the plaintiffs' request to lift the stay in that marriage equality case. The Fifth Circuit will hear arguments in that case on January 9, 2015.
In North Carolina, legislators who were granted a right to intervene in one of the marriage equality cases have asked the Fourth Circuit to hold the appeal. They plan to appeal directly to the SCOTUS (good luck with that).
In Nebraska, a federal district court judge has scheduled a hearing on the plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction in that marriage equality case for January 29, 2015.
Evan Wolfson (of Freedom To Marry) has listed his top ten moments from a blockbuster year for the freedom to marry here. Would your top ten list be the same?