Unlike other cases challenging state
bans on gay marriage, a lawsuit challenging Guam's ban won't wait for
the Supreme Court to rule in a similar case.
Federal District Court of Guam Chief
Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood announced Friday that the case will
proceed later this month. The nation's highest court is expected to
hand down a ruling in a case challenging bans in four states next
month.
While Guam Attorney General Elizabeth
Barrett-Anderson has refused to defend the ban in court, Republican
Governor Eddie Calvo, a defendant in the case, said the ban reflects
“the will of the people.” A private attorney is representing
Calvo in the matter, The
Washington Post reported.
Plaintiffs in the case, Kathleen Aguero
and Loretta Pangelinana, both 28, filed their lawsuit in April, five
days after they were denied a marriage license in the village of
Mangilao.
Guam falls under the jurisdiction of
the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The court has
struck down restrictive marriage bans in Nevada, Alaska, Arizona,
Idaho and Montana. Gay couples can marry in every state under the
court's control, including California, Hawaii and Washington.
Currently, no U.S. territory has
marriage equality.