Louisiana Judge Wants to Rule on State's Gay Marriage Ban

The Christofascists are still reeling from the 10th Circuit ruling and the ruling striking down Indiana's same sex marriage ban.  Now U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman seeks to expand the scope of the case before him involving Louisiana's ban on same sex marriage.  No doubt we will be hearing screeches about "judicial tyranny" from the usual suspects.  With the tide continually turning against their agenda of hate and division, the "godly folk" will become even more hysterical and extreme.  The Advocate looks at developments in Louisiana.  Here are excerpts:

U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman threw a curveball Wednesday at the lawyers arguing both sides of a case over gay marriage in Louisiana, deciding he will rule not only on whether same-sex marriages performed in other states should be recognized in Louisiana, but also on whether gay and lesbian couples should be able to wed in the state.

Scores of similar lawsuits are working their way through courts across the country, some of them taking on the issue of recognizing existing marriages and others aiming more directly at the right to marry in a particular state.

The case before Feldman includes six couples, all of whom argue that Louisiana should recognize marriages performed elsewhere.

But at the end of 90 minutes of oral arguments in New Orleans, Feldman said he wanted to hear debate on all of the questions involved, saying it would be unfair to the public and the parties involved to issue a “piecemeal” ruling.

“I feel uncomfortable resolving some issues one way or the other and not all the issues one way or another,” Feldman said, asking for additional briefs within three weeks but putting off a decision about whether to hear more oral arguments.

The judge’s decision will likely mean a short delay in any ruling on the recognition issue, but it could greatly speed up a decision on whether same-sex couples can get a marriage license in Louisiana.

 Another outstanding issue before Feldman is whether Louisiana is violating the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech by forcing married same-sex couples to list themselves as single on tax returns.