Arizona AG Won't Appeal Ruling That Struck Down Ban on Same-Sex Marriages - East Idaho News
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Arizona AG Won’t Appeal Ruling That Struck Down Ban on Same-Sex Marriages

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Getty 101714 RainbowFlag?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1413582241743iStock/Thinkstock(PHOENIX) — After a district court judge ruled against Arizona’s ban on same-sex marriage, the state’s attorney general has decided not to further defend the law.

According to a press release posted to Attorney General Tom Horne’s website, the decision not to defend the state’s law is “based on legal considerations rather than policy considerations.”

“A number of Attorneys General have refused to defend laws defining marriage as between a man and a woman,” he said. “I have not been among that group. I have fought to defend the laws as passed by the voters of Arizona.” However, Horne said, “the first duty of the Attorney General is to be a good lawyer.” Further, he highlights a rule that governs lawyers, by which “it is unethical for a lawyer to file a pleading for purposes of delay rather than to achieve a result.”

Because both a federal district court and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals have ruled against the state’s law, and the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review the case of three other circuits in “essentially identical circumstances,” Horne admitted that “the probability of persuading the 9th circuit to reverse today’s decision is zero…the probability of the United States Supreme Court accepting review of the 9th circuit decision is also zero.”

Horne decided, therefore, that “the only purpose to be served by filing another appeal would be to waste the taxpayer’s money,” prompting his decision not to appeal.

“I am issuing a letter today to the 15 county clerks of court with the directive that based on today’s decision by the Federal District Court, they can issue licenses for same sex marriages immediately,” he added.


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