Metro Weekly

Supreme Court lifts hold on same-sex marriages in Alaska

Alaska scotus

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to put same-sex marriage on hold in Alaska, clearing the way for same-sex couples to marry in the state.

In an order issued Friday, the high court rejected the application for a stay, thus allowing same-sex marriages to proceed. 

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had put a temporary hold on marriages in Alaska, which was set to expire Friday afternoon, after a federal judge declared the state’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional in a ruling handed down Sunday. The application for a stay was submitted to Justice Anthony Kennedy, who oversees the 9th Circuit, and referred to entire Supreme Court.

Alaska is one of the states impacted by the 9th Circuit’s ruling last week striking down same-sex marriage bans in Idaho and Nevada. Earlier Friday, a federal judge struck down Arizona’s same-sex marriage ban citing the 9th Circuit’s decision as binding for the state.

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