2 States Ask Supreme Court to Settle Gay Marriage

Indiana and Wisconsin separately asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to decide whether gay marriage should be legal in all 50 states.

Both states' attorneys general asked the high court to reverse a ruling last week by the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which declared both states' bans against same-sex marriage unconstitutional. Officials from the states say their cases offer a perfect opportunity to settle the national debate once and for all.

Indiana asked the court to settle the question of whether same-sex marriage should be legal "though either our case or another case at its earliest opportunity," said Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller, a Republican. But the state's brief went on to list several reasons why Indiana's case was the perfect avenue for a national decision.

In Wisconsin, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen filed his request the same day. Both he and Zoeller contend their states' case offers the best fact set to build a sweeping ruling that will end the national debate over gay marriage once and for all.

It's unclear when the court will respond; the states hope the justices will consider their requests during a Sept. 29 conference.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals last week upheld lower-court rulings that found each state's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional, in a scathing opinion written by Judge Richard Posner that held that tradition was no excuse for discrimination.

Fifteen states that allow gay marriage have asked the justices to take up three cases from Virginia, Utah, and Oklahoma and overturn bans. Seventeen states, including Wisconsin, that have banned the practice asked the court last week to hear cases from Utah and Oklahoma and clear up "a morass" of lawsuits.

Hundreds of gay couples wed in both states following district court rulings striking down the state laws before stays were issued. The status of those marriages has yet to be determined.

One reason cited by Indiana was that there were "no state-conferred same-sex domestic partner or civil union recognition or benefits that might preclude the Court from arriving at a nationally relevant resolution." It was not clear how that might stand in relation a federal appeals court ruling ordering Indiana to recognize the marriage of one lesbian couple. That emergency order applies only to Amy Sandler and Niki Quasney, who's fighting advanced ovarian cancer.

This story is part of our special report: "Gay Marriage". Want to read more? Here's the full list.