Same Sex Marriage Legalized in Arizona, Wyoming, & Alaska?

There is less debate concerning same-sex marriage, at least, as far as the federal court is concerned.

According to the Reuters, three more states have legalized same-sex marriages in the U.S.: Arizona, Alaska, and Wyoming.

"U.S. District Judge John Sedwick wrote in a ruling made public on Friday that the state's curbs on gay marriage were 'unconstitutional by virtue of the fact that they deny same-sex couples the equal protection of the law,'" Reuters noted.

After the ruling, Attorney General Tom Horne said that he will not appeal anymore, since he would have no chance of success, and that it would "waste the taxpayer's money."

"The probability of persuading the 9th Circuit to reverse today's decision is zero. The probability of the United States Supreme Court accepting review of the 9th Circuit decision is also zero. Therefore, the only purpose to be served by filing another appeal would be to waste the taxpayer's money. That is not a good conservative principle," he was quoted as saying.

However, Arizona's Republican Governor, Jan Brewer, lashed out at the system, saying that "It is not only disappointing, but also deeply troubling, that unelected federal judges can dictate the laws of individual states, create rights based on their personal policy preferences and supplant the will of the people in an area traditionally left to the states for more than 200 years."

The news was met with much enthusiasm from Arizona's LGBT community. Reuters also added that same-sex couples lined up to get married right away. In fact, a couple in Phoenix rushed to the county clerk's office and got married right outside the building.

In a separate ruling, the Supreme Court rejected Alaska's request to block gays and lesbians from marrying, a USA Today story stated. 

Unlike Arizona, though, couples in the state will have to wait until Monday to get married, according to ABC News, as a state holiday meant that the couples can't apply for licenses until then. Despite Alaska's last-ditch effort for an appeal, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell's office maintained that they will still be issuing marriage licenses.

Wyoming, on the other hand, cannot expect to proceed with marrying same-sex couples due to a temporary stay in the ruling, to give the state some time to appeal, Reuters reported. But, in the ABC News report, it was noted that Wyoming's Republican Governor, Matt Mead, who was against the ruling, said that "the state would not appeal by the October 23 deadline as such an effort would likely not succeed."

Mead reportedly said in a statement, "While this is not the result I and others would have hoped, I recognise people have different points of view and I hope all citizens agree we are bound by the law."

USA Today said the rulings that allowed such marriages in Arizona and Alaska have brought the total number of states that allow same-sex marriage to 31. Wyoming, would soon be number 32.