ARKANSAS: Marriage Hearing Today

An Arkansas state judge will hear marriage equality arguments today.

More than three dozen people are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging Arkansas' voter-approved ban on gay marriage. Circuit Judge Chris Piazza is to preside over the hearing at 1 p.m. Thursday in Little Rock. Late last year, Piazza refused to grant a motion by the state that sought to dismiss the lawsuit, but he also refused to grant a motion by the couples suing, who asked him to block enforcement of the ban. The plaintiffs include 21 same-sex couples and a woman who wants to dissolve her New York marriage to another woman.

Arkansas' constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was approved by voters in 2004 by a 3-1 margin.