On Monday, a federal judge threw out Oregon's ban on same-sex marriages. Oregon state officials are not appealing the decision (even though the National Organization for Marriage says it will appeal), so the decision was not stayed. That means it is now legal for same-sex couples to be married in Oregon.
On Tuesday, another federal judge threw out Pennsylvania's ban on same-sex marriages. Pennsylvania's governor said he is "studying" the decision, but the state's Attorney General agreed with the decision and said her office will not appeal the decision -- which means no stay has been issued, so same-sex marriages can now take place legally in Pennsylvania.
Oregon and Pennsylvania now join 17 other states where same-sex marriage is legal. Those states are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
In addition to those 19 states, federal judges have struck down same-sex marriage bans in Texas, Virginia, Oklahoma, Utah, Arkansas, Idaho, and Michigan. Stays have been issued in these 7 states, which means same-sex marriages are on hold until a Court of Appeals decision is made -- and those appeals are now pending in four different Circuit Courts of Appeal (5th, 6th, 9th, & 10th).
There are 24 states where same-sex marriage is still banned, but the court decisions overturning bans are coming fast now -- so we can expect a few more states to have their bans overturned pretty soon (and possibly even more appeals courts involved). It's looking more and more like the Supreme Court will be forced to make a decision on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans -- a decision they have been putting off for several years now. Personally, I don't see how they could find these bans don't deny the equal rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment (especially considering the fact that a majority of Americans now believe same-sex marriages should be legal).
