This undated file image provided by Lambda Legal shows plaintiffs and same-sex couple Beverly Sevcik, right, and Mary Baranovich. The same-sex marriage debate returns Monday Sept. 8, 2014, to the same San Francisco federal appeals court that has already issued two significant rulings in support of gay weddings. AP
SAN FRANCISCO – For the first time since it declared California’s gay marriage ban unconstitutional, the federal appeals court will hear arguments over same-sex weddings.
State and federal court judges have been striking down bans in more than a dozen states at a rapid rate since a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year.
Now, three judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — all appointed by Democrats — are set to hear arguments Monday on gay marriage bans in Idaho, Nevada and Hawaii.
The 9th Circuit in 2012 invalidated California’s Proposition 8 because it singled out a minority group for disparate treatment for no compelling reason. The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the case last year without ruling on the legal merits of gay marriage.