At 4:30 this morning, in the dark of an unusually cold New Orleans morning, people started lining up in front of the federal courthouse where the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals would hear arguments in marriage equality cases from Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
We were very honored to sit in a courtroom full of supporters from across Mississippi who had driven in to attend the hearing.
As we listened to all three arguments, it once again became apparent that no valid legal arguments exist to defend state bans on same-sex marriage.
For a great recap of today’s hearing please read Chris Geidner’s article, “Federal Appeal Court Posied to Strike Down Three Southern States’ Same-Sex Marriage Bans.”
From Geidner’s article:
After three hours of arguments, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals appeared poised to strike down bans on same-sex couples’ marriages in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas — joining all but one of the other appellate courts to consider the issue.
If the court upholds the lower court decisions striking down the Mississippi and Texas bans and reverses the trial court decision upholding Louisiana’s ban, it could have the effect of bringing marriage equality to three deep South states — and it could come before the Supreme Court acts on pending marriage cases.
Our role in this case has been to represent the thousands of same-sex couples in Mississippi who deserve the freedom to marry in their home state. We’re grateful to the legal team in this case, led by Roberta Kaplan and her colleagues at Paul Weiss, the plaintiff couples – Carla and Joce, and Andrea and Becky – and everyone across Mississippi who is working for LGBT equality. And we’re grateful to our friends in Louisiana and Texas who have worked tirelessly in their cases.
We’re hopeful that very soon, a decision by the 5th Circuit in Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant will grant Mississippi couples the freedom to marry. That day can’t come soon enough.
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