32 states ask the US Supreme Court to weigh in on marriage equality

ABC News is reporting that attorneys general from 32 states have filed two separate amicus briefs with the US Supreme Court asking the court to weigh in on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans:

Fifteen states that allow gay marriage, led by Massachusetts, filed a brief asking the justices to take up three cases from Virginia, Utah and Oklahoma and overturn bans. And 17 other states, led by Colorado, that have banned the practice asked the court to hear cases from Utah and Oklahoma to clear up a "morass" of lawsuits, but didn't urge the court to rule one way or another.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley wrote that the experience of her state -- the first to legalize the freedom to marry -- proves that marriage equality strengthens the institution of marriage and helps families. Signing on to Massachusetts's brief were the marriage equality states of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington.

Colorado's brief, which was joined by Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin, says that only the Supreme Court can resolve the question of marriage equality. It also claims, according to the AP, that "without a Supreme Court decision, states defending bans could be liable for huge legal bills from future lawsuits if they are overturned."

You can read the Massachusetts brief here.