Kentucky governor makes appeal to Supreme Court in gay marriage case

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has joined in an appeal asking the U.S. Supreme Court to settle the issue of gay marriage.

The Courier-Journal reports Beshear’s private attorneys filed the request this week, joining plaintiffs who earlier appealed a lower court ruling that upheld anti-gay marriage laws.

The ruling last month by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with states seeking to preserve gay marriage bans since the Supreme Court struck down part of a federal anti-gay marriage law last year.

Despite the ruling in favor of Beshear, the filing says the governor has “consistently taken the position that the citizens of Kentucky deserve to have the highest court of the land determine” whether gay marriage is a constitutional right.

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He said the Kentucky cases would be “excellent vehicles” to settle the issue because they deal with whether states have a duty to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states and whether the state has a duty to allow them within its borders.

“Although there are specific Kentucky laws challenged by the Petitioners, the importance of resolving the legal issues presented in the same-sex marriage dispute is not unique to Petitioners or the citizens of the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” the governor’s petition says. “Rather, final resolution of the constitutional questions presented in the same-sex marriage debate is equally important to all citizens of this nation.”