Gay and lesbian couples are marrying
once again in Arkansas after a judge clarified an earlier decision
striking down the state's ban on gay marriage.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris
Piazza on Friday knocked down a 10-year-old voter-approved
constitutional amendment and a 1997 law prohibiting gay couples from
marrying. More than 450 gay couples married in the handful of
counties that recognized Piazza's order.
The weddings came to a halt on
Wednesday when the Arkansas Supreme Court refused to stay Piazza's
ruling but said that he had neglected to address a separate state law
that prohibits county clerks from issuing marriage licenses to gay
couples.
Lawyers representing the plaintiffs in
the case asked Piazza in a
brief filed Thursday to clarify “that by granting Plaintiffs'
Motion for Summary Judgment, the Court's Order intended to, and did,
declare invalid and enjoin the enforcement of all of the Arkansas laws
challenged by Plaintiffs in this case.”
The
AP reported that after Piazza issued his order striking down all
state laws preventing same-sex couples from marrying, Pulaski County,
the state's largest, said it would resume issuing marriage licenses
to gay couples.