A circuit judge in Pulaski County will
hold a hearing Thursday in a case challenging Arkansas' ban on gay
marriage.
Circuit Judge Chris Piazza will preside
over the hearing in Little Rock.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include 21
gay couples and a lesbian who wants the state to recognize her New
York marriage so that she can divorce her wife.
Arkansas voters in 2004 approved
Amendment 83, an amendment to the state's constitution which defines
marriage as a heterosexual union.
Late last year, Piazza refused
plaintiffs' request to stop enforcement of the ban, but he also
denied the state's request to dismiss the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was one of the first filed
after the Supreme Court in June struck down a key provision of the
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denied federal benefits to
legally married gay couples, and issued a ruling which opened the
door for same-sex marriages to resume in California.