Kansas gay marriage
Supreme Court Verdict Means Same-Sex Marriage Now Legal In Missouri And Kansas
Marriage equality advocates in Missouri and Kansas rejoiced Friday as the U.S. Supreme Court dictated that states are not allowed to place bans on unions by homosexual couples.
During a month known for marriages – and queer pride events – the high court ruled 5-4 that states must identify unions between people of the alike sex.
“It’s a superb day,” said Doug Bonney, legal director of the ACLU of Kansas.
Couples who filed lawsuits in the two states, fighting the local governments for legal marriage status, said they could now move forward with their lives.
“We are ecstatic, not only for ourselves, but for all Missouri couples who will no longer have to remain to marry in their home state,” said Angela Curtis and Shannon McGinty, a lesbian couple who applied for a license in Jackson County in Kansas City.
“We are no longer in limbo and can set a go out and complete our wedding plans.”
Marriage equality advocates said cases in both states on the legality of gay marriage bans were made moot by the high court's ruling. In Missouri, Attorney General Chris Koster on Friday dropped appeals
LGBTQ+ Rights
Since 1936 the ACLU has been a force for Gay rights, and we are arrogant to keep that fight alive in Kansas. Even as the nation moves forward toward equality for all people, there are also some who seek to create unnecessary obstacles for people in the LGBTQ+ community. People face discrimination in the function place, housing, and the universal sphere based on their sexual orientation gender identity, and there are few laws in place to protect them.
What are we doing about it?
In 2014 the ACLU of Kansas filed the lawsuit Marie v. Mosier challenging Kansas’ ban same-sex marriage, and won! Other states appealed similar rulings all the way to the Supreme Court, where bans on same sex marriage were declared unconstitutional. As a outcome, same-sex couples across Kansas contain been able to legally unite since November 2014.
As some states, Kansas included, seek to enact laws that legalize discrimination, the ACLU of Kansas works to ensure that no legislation is passed denying civil liberties to the LGBTQ+community and has been a strong voice for the rights of transgender Kansans. We have been part of expanding non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people, from standin
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CONTACT: 212-549-2666, media@aclu.org
KANSAS CITY, KANSAS – Kansas Federal Court Judge Daniel Crabtree today overturned the state's ban on marriage for same-sex couples. The decision strikes down the 2005 Kansas Marriage Amendment that defines marriage as a "civil contract between one man and one woman only" in the Kansas Constitution, declaring any other definition of marriage as void. The decree is temporarily stayed, putting the effect of the ruling on hold until November 11.
"We are immensely pleased that the liberty to marry has finally come to Kansas," said Susan Estes, President of the Board of the ACLU of Kansas. "Today's decision serves as proof that Kansans, like the majority of Americans, trust same-sex couples and their families should be treated just like any other loving family."
The ruling came in Marie, et al., v. Moser, et al., a lawsuit filed October 10, 2014 by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas on behalf of two lesbian couples denied marriage licenses in Douglas and Sedgwick counties. Even though binding precedent from the Tenth Circuit, which includes Kansas, has already held that excluding same-sex couples from marr
The Freedom to Wed in Kansas
Winning Marriage:June 26, 2015
The Merged States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the release to marry nationwide on June 26, 2015, allowing all same-sex couples in Kansas the ability to marry once and for all. The decision followed more than a year of marriage litigation in Kansas, and legal weddings for same-sex couples in many of the counties in the state.
History and the Path to Victory:
- April 11, 1996: The Kansas Legislature passes a articulate statute restricting marriage to different-sex couples.
- April 5, 2005: Opponents of the liberty to marry in Kansas push through Kansas Amendment 1, a constitutional amendment denying same-sex couples the freedom to marry and any other legal family status. The amendment cements clearly discriminatory language into the Kansas Constitution.
- 2005-2014: As Americans nationwide hire in conversations about why marriage matters, national and local advocates in Kansas take strides toward increasing understanding of same-sex couples and their families.
- February 2014: Polling in Kansas tracks marked expansion in support for the freedom to marry, reflecting the power of the national discussion of