Challenges to same-sex marriage bans in four states will be argued Wednesday in Cincinnati.
It will be the biggest day yet in a slew of upcoming cases going before federal appeals judges covering nearly half the United States.
The three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments from both sides in six cases originating in four different states. Laura Landenwich is a civil rights attorney who will be arguing against Kentucky’s same-sex marriage ban.
"We will be going back to back, and although the cases each have their own nuances and slightly different facts overall the constitutional arguments are all going to be the same," she says.
Both Landenwich and private attorneys hired by Gov. Steve Beshear to defend the ban will have just 15 minutes each to argue before the court. Judges will be permitted to interrupt and ask questions.
The circuit courts are the last step before the U.S. Supreme Court, and their rulings will put pressure on the nation's highest court to weigh in. The country has seen an eight-month streak of federal rulings striking down the bans.
