Gay Marriage Developments: Alaska Couples Wait

It's been more than a week since a flurry of gay marriage developments began with the Supreme Court's denial of appeals from five states, allowing for expansion of marriage rights. Shortly afterward, a federal court in the West struck down bans in Idaho and Nevada. Recent developments on same-sex marriage around the country:

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ALASKA

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked gay marriage in Alaska while the state asks the U.S. Supreme Court to restore its ban. Unless the high court acts, the federal appeals court's block will dissolve at 11 a.m. Friday, at which point gay marriages would be allowed to go forward. U.S. District Judge Timothy Burgess on Sunday struck down Alaska's 15-year-old same-sex marriage ban as unconstitutional. Gay couples began applying for marriage certificates Monday, beginning a three-day clock to when ceremonies could be held. Some couples, however, received waivers and have already married.

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ARIZONA

A federal court has again been asked to strike down Arizona's ban on gay marriage and clear the way for legal same-sex unions in the state. Lawyers representing plaintiffs in one of two lawsuits challenging Arizona's gay marriage ban said that same-sex marriages are now being performed and recognized in 30 states and "the same should finally come true in Arizona." Arizona lawmakers approved a state law barring same-sex marriages in 1996. Seven years later, an Arizona appeals court upheld the constitutionality of the law.

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FLORIDA

State Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has repeatedly called it her duty to defend the state's ban on gay marriage, now wants the state's highest court to decide whether it's legal. Her office filed a request late Monday with the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Miami that asks the court to immediately send two consolidated cases to the Florida Supreme Court for a decision. In both cases, judges declared the state's gay marriage ban unconstitutional. It's not clear how soon the court could rule if it takes up the cases. There also is a separate federal case that could be decided before then.

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IDAHO

Idaho gay couples celebrated across the state as county clerks began issuing same-sex marriage licenses at 9 a.m. Pacific Wednesday morning. Idaho leaders warned, however, that the fight over allowing gay marriage in one of the nation's most conservative states is not over. While Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter said he would not appeal the 9th Circuit Court decision to lift the state's ban on gay marriage, he later promised that he would not give up defending Idaho's constitution which defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

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KANSAS

The American Civil Liberties Union has asked a federal court to order Kansas to allow same-sex couples to wed while the group's lawsuit against the state constitution's ban is under review. The group argued in its filing in U.S. District Court in Kansas City that it is likely to prevail. It also said that denying the right to marry even for a short period would do irreparable harm to the two lesbian couples represented by the ACLU in the case. The group wants to immediately block the state from enforcing its gay marriage ban. Attorney General Derek Schmidt's spokeswoman did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

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MONTANA

Couples challenging Montana's ban on gay marriages asked a federal judge Wednesday to decide the issue without going to trial. ACLU Montana legal director Jim Taylor says the 9th Circuit's recent decision to strike down similar bans elsewhere in the West should convince U.S. District Judge Brian Morris to rule in their favor. Montana is part of the 9th Circuit and district judges use decisions from the appellate court as precedents for their rulings.

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NEVADA

Gay marriage opponents filed a request Monday asking the full 9th Circuit to hear their case against same-sex unions in Nevada. In documents calling the issue "a question of historic importance," the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage claimed bias by a three-judge panel of the court that last week struck down a 2002 Nevada constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage. The coalition said a review before the full court is necessary because judges who were "favorably disposed to arguments for expanding the rights of gay men and lesbians" were assigned to the case. A spokesman for the appeals court has declined to comment.

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NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina magistrates have been directed to perform civil marriages for same-sex couples or face suspension or dismissal from their state jobs. A memo to state magistrates Wednesday said they would be violating their oaths of office if they refuse to marry gay or lesbian couples. The directive came after a magistrate in Pasquotank County on Monday refused to marry two men, citing religious objections. Some magistrates in Alamance County also said they wouldn't marry gay couples. A federal judge last week struck down North Carolina's same-sex marriage ban as unconstitutional.

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SOUTH CAROLINA

A second federal lawsuit was filed Wednesday in South Carolina asking for a judge to declare the state's constitutional ban illegal. The case was brought by a Charleston couple who applied for, but did not receive, a marriage license. Another case before a federal judge in Columbia wants South Carolina to recognize a gay marriage performed elsewhere. Gay marriage appeared imminent last week until the state Supreme Court ruled that South Carolina must wait for a ruling in the recognition case, which is advancing again after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision not to hear an appeal of a ruling allowing same-sex marriage in Virginia by a federal appeals court that also has jurisdiction over South Carolina.