Gay ‘marriages’ will continue in Arkansas after county judge’s ruling, state Supreme Court decides
LITTLE ROCK, AR, – The Arkansas State Supreme Court has refused to grant a stay, meaning that homosexual “marriages” may continue in the state although the U.S. Supreme Court has not ruled their legality.
Last week, County Circuit judge Chris Piazza ruled that Arkansas' 2004 marriage amendment is unconstitutional. Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel asked for the decision to be suspended while the state appeals the decision, but the state's high court refused the request on Wednesday.
Within days of Piazza's ruling, 450 homosexual couples received marriage licenses, which will be declared invalid if the state law is upheld. Nearly all county clerks refused to provide licenses, arguing that the Supreme Court has not ruled on the constitutionality of same-sex "marriage."
McDaniel said this uncertainty should be enough for a "stay" of Piazza's ruling, which struck down a 2004 constitutional amendment approved by 75 percent of state voters.
"It's terribly concerning to have one judge unilaterally ignore the will of the people of Arkansas,” Alice Stewart, a talk show host who served as communications director for Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and the Huckabee presidential campaign, told LifeSiteNews. "The fact that a stay was not issued along with the original 'Friday dump' order has led to total confusion about the status of marriage in Arkansas.”
She said that the county clerks were acting appropriately, noting that "traditional marriage is still the law of the land in Arkansas, and until the Supreme Court affirms Judge Piazza's order, marriage certificates should be not be granted to same sex couples."
Huckabee supported the 2004 amendment, and signed a 1997 law that made same-sex "marriage" illegal in his state. He called for Piazza's impeachment earlier this week.
One state lawmaker told Arkansas News that some Republican lawmakers are considering impeachment, and that "you might even have a resolution on the floor" by Friday.
Jason Rabert also said that Piazza's ruling "has overstepped the United States Constitution, which he cites. He’s overstepped the Arkansas Constitution, clearly, and he has flown in the face of the entirety of the population of the state of Arkansas."
Rabert pointed to the Supreme Court's Defense of Marriage Act ruling last year, which left marriage policy up to the individual states.
Arkansas is one of several states that are appealing judicial rulings against state laws against same-sex "marriage."
