Supreme Court Clears Way For Gay Marriage In Virginia, 4 Other States

• PICS: The First Same-Sex Marriages in Virginia
• More: Arlington’s First Same-Sex Marriage

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear appeals from Virginia and four other states attempting to block same-sex marriage. The court’s move appears to end bans on same-sex marriage in those states.

The justices made no additional comment in refusing appeals from Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin, according to The Associated Press. The move avoids, at least temporarily, a national ruling on gay marriage.

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The Fourth Circuit is expected to issue its mandate at 1 p.m., according to the office of Va. Attorney General Mark Herring. Local clerks are receiving guidance and forms necessary to begin performing marriages today.

“This is a tremendous moment in Virginia history,” Herring said in a statement. “We will continue to fight discrimination wherever we find it, but today, we celebrate a moment when we move closer to fulfilling the promise of equality ignited centuries ago in Virginia, and so central to the American experience.”

See more statements from Herring, Gov. Terry McAuliffe and more.

The Washington Post notes the Supreme Court’s decision will likely impact same-sex marriage bans in Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, because those states are under Appeals Courts that have struck down marriage bans in nearby states.

Road to Same-Sex Marriage in Virginia

In July, a three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled, 2-1, that Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriages was unconstitutional. A defendant in the case, Prince William County’s Clerk of Courts Michele McQuigg, appealed the decision.

The Supreme Court had delayed marriages in Virginia while it considered the appeal. It appears the delay is no longer valid now that the court has turned away that appeal.

In the July ruling, Appeals Court Judge Henry F. Floyd wrote that Virginia’s ban isn’t justified, regardless of how “deeply uncomfortable” some may be with same-sex marriage.

“The choice of whether and whom to marry is an intensely personal decision that alters the course of an individual’s life,” he wrote. “Denying same-sex couples this choice prohibits them from participating fully in our society.”