Breaking ranks, court upholds gay-marriage bans in 4 states

CINCINNATI - The rush toward gay marriage in the United 


States hit a roadblock Thursday when a federal appeals court


 upheld laws against the practice in four states, creating a 


split in the legal system and increasing the chances the 


Supreme Court will take up the issue.The cases decided 


were from Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

Breaking ranks with other federal courts around the country, 

the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled 2-1 that 

states had the right to set rules for marriage and that 

changing a definition that dates to "the earliest days o

f human history" is better done through the political process, not the courts.
"Surely the people should receive some deference in 

deciding when the time is ripe to move from one picture of 


marriage to another," said Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton, 

writing for himself and a fellow George W. Bush appointee, 


while a Bill Clinton appointee dissented.


The ruling ran counter to a remarkably rapid string of 

victories for the gay-rights movement over the last few 

months that have made same-sex marriage legal in at least 

30 states.

Four other U.S. appeals courts ruled in recent months that 

states cannot ban gay marriage.

philly.com