April 17, 2014
Hearing Set in Challenge to Arkansa's Gay Marriage Ban
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 1 MIN.
Advocates of ending Arkansas' ban on same-sex marriage are to make their case before a circuit judge in Pulaski County.
More than three dozen people are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging Arkansas' voter-approved ban on gay marriage. Circuit Judge Chris Piazza is to preside over the hearing at 1 p.m. Thursday in Little Rock.
Late last year, Piazza refused to grant a motion by the state that sought to dismiss the lawsuit, but he also refused to grant a motion by the couples suing, who asked him to block enforcement of the ban.
The plaintiffs include 21 same-sex couples and a woman who wants to dissolve her New York marriage to another woman.
Voters passed a 2004 constitutional amendment stipulating marriage is between one man and one woman.