A federal appeals court on Monday set
aside its decision striking down Indiana's ban on gay marriage until
the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on the matter.
In an unanimous September 4 ruling, the
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago knocked down similar
prohibitions in Wisconsin and Indiana, finding each to be
unconstitutional.
Both states have appealed the ruling to
the Supreme Court, which is expected to consider petitions stemming
from challenges to bans in five states, including Utah, Virginia,
Oklahoma, Indiana and Wisconsin, at a September 29 closed-door
conference.
Justices could agree to hear one or
several cases, deny all of them, or choose to set the requests aside
for now.
The move comes just days after a
federal judge ordered Indiana officials to recognize the out-of-state
marriage of a lesbian couple, of which one of the partners is
terminally ill. It is the second time the state has been forced to
make an exception.
(Related: Indiana
recognizes marriage of terminally ill lesbian.)