A federal appeals court is expected to
hand down a ruling in a case challenging Virginia's ban on gay
marriage sometime this month.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in
Richmond heard an appeal in Bostic v. Rainey on May 13,
roughly three months after a federal judge in Norfolk ruled that
Virginia's 2006 voter-approved constitutional amendment defining
marriage as a heterosexual union violates the Equal Protection clause
of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Legal experts speaking with the
Richmond
Times-Dispatch said a ruling in the case is imminent.
Carl Tobias, a constitutional law
professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, told the paper
that he believes the delay suggests a split decision.
“The judges are probably writing
multiple opinions based on the questioning at argument, which
suggests that they might not agree on the appropriate resolution,”
Tobias said.
A ruling in the case would also apply
to marriage bans in North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia.