PHOENIX (AP) – Lawyers for Arizona and a group of gay and lesbian couples who sued over the state’s ban on same-sex marriage want a judge to decide the case without a trial.
The attorneys told U.S. District Court Judge John W. Sedwick on July 7 they think he can instead rule based on arguments each side will file in the coming months.
The couples argue that the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection and due process clauses are violated by the state law barring them from being married.
The case will be heard after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hears appeals from Idaho and Nevada in September on cases from those states. A federal judge struck down Idaho’s ban on same-sex marriage in May. Another federal judge upheld Nevada’s ban in 2012.
