Bishop v. Smith

TULSA, Okla. — Clasping bouquets of purple and pink roses and lilies, Mary Bishop and Sharon Baldwin accomplished Monday a task nearly a decade in the making: becoming legally married in Oklahoma. In a ceremony on the Tulsa County Courthouse steps, just as rush-hour traffic was bottling up downtown, the lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit against …

DENVER — A federal appeals court has lifted its stay in gay marriage cases in Oklahoma and Utah, clearing the way for same-sex nuptials to begin in both states. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver lifted the stays Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the matter. The high court’s decision effectively means gay marriage…

TULSA, Okla. — Attorneys for a same-sex Tulsa couple seeking the right to marry in Oklahoma have filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court asking the court to take up their case. The couple, Sharon Baldwin and Mary Bishop, sued Tulsa County Clerk Sally Howe Smith for failing to issue them a marriage license shortly after voters in Oklahoma approved a ban on same-sex marriage in 2004.

TULSA, Okla. — Voters should decide how to define marriage, not federal judges, said attorneys who filed an appeal Wednesday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether Oklahoma’s ban on gay marriage is constitutional. The 47-page appeal was filed by lawyers for Alliance Defending Freedom, an organization representing Tulsa County Clerk …

TULSA, Okla. — The attorneys for two lesbian couples who challenged Oklahoma’s ban on same-sex have requested that Tulsa County cover their legal fees. The Tulsa World reports the attorneys asked Friday that the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals compensate them for their work on the case. They said the request stems from a law that allows plaintiffs…

TULSA, Okla. — The federal appeals court decision that upheld a district court ruling striking down Oklahoma’s same-sex marriage ban will be one of at least three same-sex marriage rulings appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Alliance Defending Freedom, the conservative legal group representing the Tulsa County court clerk, told The Oklahoman on Friday…

OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma couple that challenged a state ban on same-sex marriage is praising a federal court ruling striking down the ban. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver handed down the decision Friday in favor of Tulsans Mary Bishop and Sharon Baldwin. The two expressed gratitude for the ruling that they say affirms that all people are…

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin says a federal appeals court ruling that struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage is an example of federal courts trampling on the rights of states to govern themselves. Fallin issued a statement Friday after the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver struck down Oklahoma’s constitutional …

TULSA, Okla. — An attorney for Tulsa County’s clerk says he disagrees with a federal appeals court that struck down Oklahoma’s ban against same-sex marriage. OKLAHOMA CITY — An attorney for Tulsa County’s clerk says he disagrees with a federal appeals court that struck down Oklahoma’s ban against same-sex marriage.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Gay rights groups are planning celebrations across the state after a federal appeals court ruled Oklahoma’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. Two separate rallies were planned Friday evening in Oklahoma City, with other events scheduled in Tulsa and Norman. A “Decision Day Gathering” set for 7 p.m. Friday night at the …