Kentucky Attorney General Will Not Defend STate's Marriage Ban

The ranks of attorneys general who are declining to defend their respective state's same sex marriage bans is growing.  In Kentucky, Attorney General Jack Conway (pictured at left) has made the announcement yesterday that he would not appeal U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II’s ruling striking down Kentucky's ban on recognition of same sex marriages performed in other sates and further that he would not pursue any more stays of the ruling.  Like other attorneys general who have taken this position, Conway properly placed his oath to defend the U.S. Constitution over his oath to defend Kentucky's Constitution. Governor Steve Beshear announced Tuesday morning that the state will hire outside counsel to appeal .  The Courier-Journal has details.  Here are excerpts:

Gov. Steve Beshear announced Tuesday morning that the state will hire outside counsel to appeal a judicial ruling that the state must recognize same-sex marriages legally performed outside the state.

The announcement followed state Attorney General Jack Conway’s emotional announcement that he would not appeal U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II’s ruling and would not pursue any more stays.

“Judge Heyburn got it right,” he said at his Frankfort office. By appealing, he said, he would be defending discrimination “and that I will not do.”

Conway said he had prayed on the decision and felt he is doing what is right. He said that he was sworn to defend both the constitutions of Kentucky and the United States.

“It’s about placing people over politics,” he said.

He began choking up at the end of the statement before leaving without taking questions.

Beshear’s office emailed a statement soon after the announcement saying that an outside counsel would be hired to appeal the decision and ask for a stay pending appeal.

Expect more rage and flying spittle from the Christocascist crowd.

Kentucky Ordered to Recognize Out-of-State Gay Marriages

Yesterday was another bad day for the hate merchants of the "family values" crowd as a federal judge in Kentucky ordered that state to recognize same sex marriages legally performed in states that allow same sex marriage.  The order was the second shoe to drop in litigation that has struck down Kentucky's GOP/Christofascist backed state constitutional amendment.  Even more interesting is the fact that the judge did not stay his ruling pending a possible appeal by the state.  As the dominoes continue to fall in federal court rulings, the reactions of the "godly folk" increasingly parallel the mindset of segregationists from 50 years ago who used "religious belief" to try to mask their overt racism.  Note how the sister organization to The Family Foundation here in Virginia is attacking the state's attorney general.  Here are highlights from USA Today on yesterday's ruling in Kentucky:

A federal judge Thursday ordered Kentucky officials to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples performed out of state.

U.S. District Court Judge John Heyburn ruled that Kentucky's Constitution and laws banning recognition of such marriages "violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, and they are void and unenforceable."

The decision amounted to a final ruling on his Feb. 12 opinion in the case.

"We are cautiously optimistic," said Dan Canon, a lawyer for the four gay and lesbian couples who won the case. "The order has been granted without qualification and without a stay."

At least two of the couples in the suit said they planned to take some legal actions as soon as possible:

• Greg Bourke, who married Michael De Leon in 2004 Ontario, said he would amend adoption papers for their two children so Bourke's name could be added as their parent.

• Jimmy Meade and Luther Barlowe of Bardstown, Ky., who married in 2009 in Iowa, said they would go to a state driver's license office and take each other's last names, according to one of their lawyers, Dawn Elliott.

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway had asked the judge Thursday to delay his order by 90 days to give him the chance to decide whether to appeal. The motion said that Gov. Steve Beshear, also a defendant, needed time as well to decide how to implement the order if it is not appealed.

The motion suggests that Conway is at least considering joining six other state attorneys general who have decided not to appeal rulings throwing out marriage bans. Those officials, all Democrats, said the laws are discriminatory and violate the right to equal protection under the law.

Conway has said he is legally bound to defend Kentucky statutes and its marriage amendment, but U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. declared Monday that state attorneys general are not obligated to defend laws they believe are discriminatory.
Heyburn's ruling doesn't affect a related lawsuit seeking to force the state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Martin Cothran, a senior policy analyst for the Family Foundation of Kentucky, criticized the state attorney general's handling of the case, accusing him of "spiking" the state's defense by not making persuasive arguments to keep the ban in place.  "If this were a private case, it would be legal malpractice," Cothran said. "The longer the attorney general drags his feet on this case, the worse it is for Kentucky voters."

As for "persuasive arguments" to support the ban, as we are seeing in one federal ruling after another, there are no such arguments to support such marriage bans other than religious based hate and bigotry and the desire of Christofascists to force their beliefs on all citizens.