TOPEKA, KAN. ---- Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt today issued the following statement in connection with today’s announcement by the U. S. Supreme Court that it will not hear current appeals related to the constitutionality of state prohibitions on same-sex marriage:
“Today’s unexpected and disappointing decision to avoid the issue ensures that an already uncertain legal situation for Kansas and many other states will become even more so. It is likely the Supreme Court eventually will have to decide this question, but until then this delay is sure to generate more litigation and more uncertainty both for defenders of traditional marriage and for same-sex couples. To date, no Court has squarely decided whether the Kansas Constitution’s prohibition on same-sex marriage -- adopted by voters less than a decade ago -- is invalid.
“My office is consulting with the Governor’s office and with other states affected, directly or indirectly, by today’s decision and will deal with pending or future litigation directly affecting the Kansas constitutional provision as it may come. We are also closely watching ongoing litigation in the Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, and Eleventh federal circuit courts of appeal that could again present the Supreme Court a request to decide this question with finality during its current term.”
