Kansas Is 33rd State To Allow Gay Couples To Marry

Kansas late Wednesday became the 33^rd state to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry after the Supreme Court refused to further delay implementation of a ruling striking down the state's ban on gay marriage.

U.S. District Judge Daniel D. Crabtree struck down the ban, saying it violates the Fourteenth Amendment, and ordered the state to begin issuing marriage licenses to gay couples starting on Tuesday.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt turned to the Supreme Court after the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver refused to stay Crabtree's decision.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who oversees federal courts in Kansas, temporarily blocked the ruling from taking effect as the justices deliberated. In its one-page order lifting the stay, the court said that Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented.

Kansas was one of two remaining states fighting to keep its ban after the Supreme Court on October 6 refused to hear appeals in cases challenging similar bans in five states. South Carolina remains, but a federal judge on Wednesday struck down South Carolina's ban.

(Related: Federal judge strikes down South Carolina's gay marriage ban.)

Schmidt argued that Kansas should be allowed to keep its ban as it pursues an appeal because a recent federal appeals court's ruling upholding such bans in four states had created a disagreement between appellate courts.

In a statement, Schmidt suggested that the state would continue to fight: “Although the preliminary injunction is in place, it remains under appeal in the 10^th Circuit. The underlying case on the merits also remains pending.”