A federal appeals court decision invalidating Virginia's same-sex marriage ban would have at least some impact on similar prohibitions in three neighboring states, including South Carolina, gay-rights activists said Monday, according to The Washington Post.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond will hear arguments Tuesday on a judge's ruling striking down Virginia's same-sex marriage ban after U.S. District Judge Arena Wright Allen ruled in February that the prohibition violates the U.S. Constitution's equal protection and due process guarantees, the Post reported.
The lawsuit was filed by two same-sex couples: Timothy Bostic and Tony London of Norfolk, and Carol Schall and Mary Townley of Chesterfield County, according to the Post. Bostic said he and London brought the lawsuit primarily for their own benefit, but the widespread public support they have received has changed their perspective,
"It all of a sudden made us realize it's not just about us," Bostic said, the Post reported. "It's bigger than that."
A ruling affirming Allen's decision could either strike down bans or virtually ensure the success of similar lawsuits in the other states like North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia which also prohibit gay marriage and are part of the 4th Circuit, according to the Post.
Maryland is also in the 4th Circuit, but it is one of the 17 states that already allow same-sex marriage, the Post reported.
Matt McGill, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs in the Virginia case, said the activists are correct about the possible ripple effect of the appeals court's ruling, according to the Post.
"It depends on how the 4th Circuit decides the case," McGill said, the Post reported. "To the extent the court of appeals is interpreting the Constitution of the United States, that interpretation would be binding on the other states within the 4th Circuit. It could have the effect of striking down marriage bans in West Virginia, South Carolina and North Carolina."
Supporters of the same-sex marriage ban have argued that procreation is a major reason for marriage, and that children fare better in homes with both a mother and a father, according to the Post. The Family Research Council, which supported Virginia's 2006 constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, says in a friend-of-the court brief that recognition of same-sex unions "would be detrimental to the institution of marriage, children and society as a whole."