WEDNESDAY: Sixth Circuit Court To Hear Marriage Cases From OH, MI, KY, & TN

In two days the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in five marriage equality cases out of Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Via the Columbus Dispatch:

A same-sex marriage showdown happens in Cincinnati on Wednesday as three federal appeals judges, including two Ohioans, hear marriage cases from Ohio and three neighboring states. It will be the single-largest legal event in the same-sex marriage debate since June 26, 2013, when the U.S. Supreme Court declared part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act to be unconstitutional. Since then, every major federal and state court ruling nationwide has gone in favor of gay-marriage proponents. The Cincinnati hearings are expected to draw such large crowds of journalists and spectators to the Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse that the clerk of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has set up two overflow courtrooms equipped with piped-in audio of the proceedings. All five cases will be heard by the same three-judge panel, consisting of former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Deborah L. Cook, 62; ex-state Solicitor Jeffrey Sutton, 53; and Martha Craig “Cissy” Daughtrey, 72. Daughtrey was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993, while Cook and Sutton were picked by President George W. Bush in 2003.

Freedom Ohio and Why Marriage Matters Ohio will both stage rallies in downtown Cincinnati. A local anti-gay group will hold a prayer vigil. From their leader: "We’re praying for people caught up in homosexuality. We’re praying for (judges) to do the right thing.”  I'll be posting tweets from the scene and whatever live video is available all day. (Tipped by JMG reader Arthur)