A federal appeals court upheld state laws that refuse to recognize same-sex “marriage” Nov. 6, seemingly preparing the way for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide a contentious issue it has avoided so far.
In a 2–1 opinion, a panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled four states — Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee — did not violate the U.S. Constitution by limiting marriage to the union of a man and a woman. The decision conflicts with rulings by four other federal appeals courts that struck down state laws that refused to recognize gay “marriage.”
The same-sex couples who lost could ask for “en banc” review of the ruling, which would include all the members of the Sixth Circuit Court, or they could appeal to the Supreme Court. If they take the latter course and the justices grant review, the high court could issue a decision on the constitutionality of same-sex “marriage” before its current term ends next summer.
Southern Baptist support
Frank S. Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, said, “We applaud the decision of … the court, breaking a string of decisions by activist judges and courts who have imposed their personal belief systems on the public.”
President Russell D. Moore of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission said in a statement, “This circuit split means that the Supreme Court’s ignoring of this issue will not be able to continue. The people of the states have the right to recognize marriage … as the union of a man and a woman. The Supreme Court should affirm this right for all fifty states.”
(Baptist Press)
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