Marriage equality comes to Arkansas

[LiberalArkie]

http://www.arktimes.com/arkansas/marriage-equality-comes-to-arkansas/Content?oid=3293530

https://www.facebook.com/arkansastimes/photos/a.113376568763.117920.113238993763/10152444092888764/?type=1

Marriage equality arrived in Arkansas at 4:51 p.m. Friday when Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza filed his ruling striking down both a 2004 constitutional amendment and a 1997 statute that ban same-sex marriage in Arkansas.

He cited, as many other judges have, the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down a portion of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Piazza, who'd invalidated the statute aimed at preventing gay couples for adopting, wrote for the ages, with lofty appeals to higher purpose and law. He concluded by invoking the federal court ruling that ended discrimination in marriage against mixed-race couples:

It has been over forty years since Mildred Loving was given the right to marry the person of her choice. The hatred and fears have long since vanished and she and her husband lived full lives together; so it will be for the same-sex couples. It is time to let that beacon of freedom shine brighter on all our brothers and sisters. We will be stronger for it.

Then all hell and happiness broke loose. Perhaps by design, Piazza filed as the Pulaski County clerk's office closed for the week. That turned attention to Eureka Springs, where the western district clerk's office for Carroll County is open on Saturday morning to accommodate people who flock to the Victorian village in the Ozarks for a weekend wedding.

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http://www.arktimes.com/arkansas/marriage-equality-comes-to-arkansas/Content?oid=3293530

[RKP5637]

1. K&R !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t