The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals declared on Thursday gay marriage bans in Indiana and Wisconsin unconstitutional, a decision that could be sent to the United States Supreme Court upon appeal.
The unanimous decision comes after hearings that took place Aug. 26.
The addition of Indiana and Wisconsin brings the number of states allowing same-sex marriage up to 21.
In the decision, Justice Richard Posner wrote “the governments of Indiana and Wisconsin have given us no reason to think they have a ‘reasonable basis’ for forbidding same-sex marriages.”
The ruling, which was heard by Seventh Circuit Court Judges Posner, Ann Claire Williams and David F. Hamilton.
Hamilton’s chambers are located in the Maurer School of Law. His office declined for comment.
According to a release by the office of Attorney General Greg Zoeller, the ruling will not be in effect until the court issues a mandate.
They stay issued by the court will still be enacted. The release also said the state will be seeking a stay for Thursday’s ruling.
“The court has affirmed the love and commitment our plaintiffs and thousands of same-sex couples in Indiana and Wisconsin have for each other,” Paul Castillo, staff attorney for Lambda Legal, said in a press release. “The unanimous decision also reinforces the importance of marriage for the children of same-sex couples, who shouldn’t have to grow up thinking their families are inferior to other families.”
Lambda Legal represents the plaintiffs in the case.
During the hearings, Solicitor General Thomas Fisher was interrupted in his opening remarks by Justice Ann Williams to be questioned about the lack of benefits of adoptions by homosexual parents compared to those of heterosexual ones.
“The challenged laws discriminate against a minority defined by an immutable characteristic, and the only rationale that the states put forth with any conviction — that same-sex couples and their children don’t need marriage because same-sex couples can’t produce children, intended or unintended — is so full of holes that it cannot be taken seriously,” Justice Posner wrote in his decision.
The case was originally filed in the U.S. District Court of Southern Indiana. Six women, three lesbian couples, filed a complaint in March against their counties’ clerks and Attorney General Greg Zoeller.
The women claim Indiana Code Section 31-11-1-1 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman violated their right to due process and equal protection under the law in the 14th Amendment.
Their case was lumped with Fujii v. Pence and Lee v. Pence in the District Court.
On June 25, U.S. District Court judge Richard Young ruled in favor of same-sex marriage and issued the ruling without stay, allowing gay couples in Indiana to get married for two days.
The marriages stopped by an emergency stay issued by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.ee
IU Maurer School of Law professor Steve Sanders said the quick ruling was not surprising given the magnitude of the issue and how quickly Justice Posner is known to write decisions.
“I think the court also sees this as an enormously important and timely issue,” Sanders said.
Sanders said whether the nation’s highest court will take the case is completely unpredictable.
“Basically, the same issue is presented in all of these cases, so they don’t have to take all of these lower court decisions,” he said.
About 30 people attended a rally held by FairTalk, a grassroots same-sex marriage organization, Thursday evening on the court house lawn.
Many rally members considered the issue’s end to be just a matter of time.
“I’m hopeful this is all done by next summer,” FairTalk president Jean Capler said.
Rally attendees waved flags and shared testimonies about their hopes for the future of same-sex marriage in the state.
“It’s nice to see Indiana join the 21st century,” rally attendee Duane Busick said.
