A federal judge has struck down Arizona’s prohibitions on marriage equality. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge John Sedwick didn’t bother pretending that this was a unique case, making clear that the time for hesitation has passed:
Sedwick said in his ruling that because the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had already ruled against gay marriage bans in Nevada and Idaho, he did not need to give a lengthy reason for his ruling and was bound by the appeals’ court decision.
“A stay of this decision to allow defendants to appeal is not warranted. It is clear that an appeal to the 9th Circuit would not succeed. It is also clear … that the High Court will turn a deaf ear on any request for relief from the 9th Circuit’s decision,” Sedwick said.
Indeed. And what better response to the equality opponents’ usual ludicrous arguments about how marriage is for making babies. The Arizona attorney general’s office wasn’t commenting yet, but with Sedwick refusing to stay his ruling and the 9th Circuit unlikely to do so, it’s not likely the state can stall for long on implementing equality.
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Congratulations to the happy couples.
