U.S. District Judge Brian Morris has canceled a hearing set for November 20 in a case challenging Montana's ban on gay marriage, saying he will rule based on briefs already filed with the court.
From the Billings Gazette:
The four gay couples who sued to overturn the ban along with Attorney General Tim Fox, who is defending the ban, agreed that U.S. District Judge Brian Morris has enough information to decide the case without the formal hearing that had been scheduled next Thursday.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently struck down similar gay-marriage bans in Idaho and Nevada. The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana expects a favorable ruling because the 9th Circuit includes Montana.
From ACLU of Montana Legal Director Jim Taylor:
“We don’t think there are any material facts in dispute, and so the case can be decided without a trial.
The ban on same sex marriage in the Montana Constitution is the same as the bans that were ruled unconstitutional in Idaho, and Nevada. The four couples in our case are situated the same as the couples who won in the Idaho and Nevada cases.
We are raising the same issues that were raised in the Idaho and Nevada cases, and we are optimistic that the decisions of the Ninth Circuit in those cases will convince the District Court to rule in our favor.”
Governor Steve Bullock has spoken out in favor of same-sex marriage in Montana.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.