Ark. gay marriages end, for now, after ruling

Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, ARK.

The Arkansas Supreme Court refused Wednesday to put on hold a ruling that overturned the state’s constitutional ban on gay marriage, but the short-lived ability for same-sex couples to wed in the state still came to a halt amid confusion about what comes next.

The justices in their decision offered no direction on that point to the state’s county clerks, some of whom had pointed to another ban against gay marriage that is written into an aspect of state law and questioned if it remained in effect.

Last Friday, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza threw out a 10-year-old ban that voters placed in the state constitution and a separate state law barring same-sex marriages. But he didn’t rule on a third law that regulates the conduct of county clerks, which threatens fines if they issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Clerks in five counties responded to Judge Piazza’s decision by starting to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, and more than 450 gay couples in Arkansas have since received a license to marry. Two counties continued to issue licenses on Wednesday, but they stopped after the Supreme Court’s ruling. Couples that already have licenses still can get married.

The state’s other 70 counties had not issued licenses to gay couples, with many saying the Supreme Court needed to weigh in.

Also Wednesday, the high court dismissed McDaniel’s initial appeal of Judge Piazza’s ruling, saying it was premature because the judge hadn’t issued a final order.