Judge in Pa. Gay Marriage Suit Nixes State Appeal

A federal judge hearing a challenge to Pennsylvania's law banning recognition of same-sex marriages is keeping the case on track for trial by preventing an appellate review at this stage.

U.S. District Judge John Jones on Tuesday rejected the state's argument that his court lacks the power to hear the case, and suggested that the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals would agree with him.

Jones says there've been "substantial and far-reaching" developments in how courts treat equal protection and due process rights since the U.S. Supreme Court's 1972 decision that it lacked the jurisdiction to decide whether a Minnesota law banning same-sex marriages violated the Constitution.

He says that puts him in a position to hear the case.

He has scheduled a trial to start on June 9.