New York Times

Alaska and Arizona Are Latest to Clear Way for Gay Marriage

October 18, 2014

by Adam Liptak

WASHINGTON — Alaska and Arizona on Friday became the latest states to allow same-sex marriage, bringing the number of states that let gay and lesbian couples wed to 31.

Alaska joined that group after theSupreme Court refused to block a ruling that struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court’s order was terse and gave no reasons.

On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco,entered a brief temporary stay, giving Alaska officials until noon local time on Friday to get a stay from the Supreme Court after a trial judge struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court issued its order almost exactly at the deadline.

Gov. Sean Parnell, a Republican, hadtold the justices that he was mindful that the court had recently turned down appeals from rulings that had struck down same-sex marriage bans in Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. But he said “the issue presented in this case is of overriding national importance.”

In Arizona, Attorney General Thomas C. Horne, a Republican, said he would not appeal a ruling striking down Arizona’s ban, and he instructed court clerks to begin issuing marriage licenses immediately.

“The probability of persuading the Ninth Circuit to reverse today’s decision is zero,” he explained in a statement. “The probability of the United States Supreme Court accepting review of the Ninth Circuit decision is also zero.”

“The only purpose to be served by filing another appeal would be to waste the taxpayer’s money,” he said. “That is not a good conservative principle.”

Also on Friday, Wyoming seemed poised to become the 32nd state to permit same-sex marriages. Judge Scott Skavdahl of United States District Court declared the state’s ban on such marriages unconstitutional, but issued a hold on his ruling until next Thursday, giving state officials until then to appeal.