OKLAHOMA: Tulsa County Clerk To Appeal Marriage Ban Overturn To SCOTUS

Back in January a federal court overturned Oklahoma's ban on same-sex marriage.  Acting on behalf of Tulsa County Clerk Sally Howe Smith, the Alliance Defending Freedom appealed that ruling to the Tenth Circuit Court, who upheld the lower court's ruling last month. Late Friday evening the Alliance Defending Freedom announced that it was appealing the Tenth Circuit ruling to SCOTUS.

Kerri Kupec, spokeswoman for the Alliance Defending Freedom, told The Oklahoman that the clerk will ask Supreme Court justices to review the July 18 decision by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In that 2-1 decision, the court ruled that Oklahoma’s ban violates 14th Amendment guarantees of due process and equal protection under the law. Mary Bishop and Sharon Baldwin, the Tulsa County couple who sued the court clerk when she refused to give them a marriage license, issued a joint statement Friday night. “Although we aren’t surprised by the Alliance Defending Freedom's decision to appeal our victory from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, neither are we disappointed,” the couple said. “We are ready to see the highest court in the land affirm that marriage equality is the law of the land. We have confidence in our case and our lawyers, and should the Supreme Court agree to hear our case, we anticipate a victory there, as well.”

Notices of appeal to SCOTUS have also been filed by the state of Utah and the clerk for Virginia's Prince William County, the latter of which was done by the Alliance Defending Freedom. None of the three appeals have yet been formally filed.