US Appeals Court Tosses Oklahoma Gay Marriage Ban

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that Oklahoma must allow gay couples to wed, prompting a fast, angry response from leaders of a state that has vehemently fought policy changes brought on from outside its borders.

A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver upheld a federal judge's ruling striking down Oklahoma's gay marriage ban, which had been approved by more than 75 percent of voters in 2004. Friday's decision marks the second time the federal appeals court has found the U.S. Constitution protects same-sex marriage.

The court put its 2-1 ruling on hold pending an appeal, meaning same-sex couples won't be allowed to marry in Oklahoma for now.

"Today's ruling is another instance of federal courts ignoring the will of the people and trampling on the right of states to govern themselves," Gov. Mary Fallin said. "In this case, two judges have acted to overturn a law supported by Oklahomans."

She said she hoped the decision was overturned and pledged to "fight back against our federal government when it seeks to ignore or change laws written and supported by Oklahomans."

Oklahoma has made a habit in recent years of battling federal laws and policies, with the state suing over health care reform, Environmental Protection Agency requirements and the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. The state last year also refused to process benefits for same-sex couples in the National Guard, instead ordering that those workers' benefits be processed at federal facilities.

Friday's decision comes after the same three-judge panel ruled in June that Utah's ban on same-sex marriage violates the Constitution. That was the first time an appellate court determined that last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act meant states couldn't deny gays the ability to wed. That ruling also is on hold, and Utah's attorney general has said he plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Sharon Baldwin and Mary Bishop filed the Oklahoma lawsuit in 2004 shortly after 76 percent of Oklahoma voters approved a constitutional ban on gay marriage. After an appeals court ruled in 2009 that the couple lacked standing, they filed an amended complaint listing as the defendant the Tulsa County Court Clerk, since that is the person who issues marriage licenses.

A second claim, by Gay Phillips and Susan Barton, who had a civil union in Vermont and were legally wed in Canada, challenges a section of the Defense of Marriage Act that says individual states don't have to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.

"We are so grateful that the 10th Circuit understands what more and more people across this country are beginning to realize — that gay and lesbian people are citizens who should enjoy the same rights as straight people under the law," Baldwin and Bishop said in a statement.

Attorneys representing the clerk said they were considering their options. They noted the panel's dissenting judge argued that changing the definition of marriage should belong to Oklahoma residents, not a federal court.

"Every child deserves a mom and a dad, and the people of Oklahoma confirmed that at the ballot box when they approved a constitutional amendment that affirmed marriage as a man-woman union," said Byron Babione, senior attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is defending the county clerk.