Little Rock, Ark. (AP) – The plaintiffs in a federal challenge to Arkansas’ ban on gay marriage are asking a judge to lift a stay on the court’s 2014 ruling striking down the ban.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker’s decision Aug. 11 that struck down a 2004 constitutional amendment and earlier state law defining marriage as between a man and a woman. The court found the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage didn’t render the state case moot.
An attorney for the plaintiffs filed a motion Aug. 14 in the Eastern District of Arkansas asking that the stay on enforcing Baker’s ruling be lifted now that the appeal is complete.
Arkansas had suggested Baker’s decision was moot and asked the appeals panel to vacate the judge’s decision.
