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Beshear: State Agencies Should Prepare for Gay Marriage Ruling

Brookings Institution
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Flickr (Creative Commons License)

With a Supreme Court decision expected any day now, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear says state agencies are making preparations should the justices vote to allow gay marriage.

After a federal judge in Kentucky struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage last year, Beshear appealed the ruling after Attorney General Jack Conway declined to do so. 

The state has paid around $200,000 in attorney fees to defend the ban. Beshear says it was money well spent.  The democratic governor has refused to disclose his personal beliefs on gay marriage and maintains he chose to defend the ban to get a final resolution from the nation’s highest court.

“Right now we’ve got a hodge-podge of statues, different constitutional amendments, court rulings, that are really conflicting all over this country," said Beshear. "And I don’t think that’s fair to anybody. I think that both  sides deserve a finality.”

Beshear says preparations are being made now should the justices vote to allow gay marriage.

"One area would be taxation," said Beshear. "You know, our revenue department is looking at that in terms of filing a married return, a joint married return.”

The wording on marriage license forms would also have to change to accommodate same-sex couples.

Many legal scholars expect the Supreme Court to strike down Kentucky’s prohibition on gay marriage. 

Lisa is a Scottsville native and WKU alum. She has worked in radio as a news reporter and anchor for 18 years. Prior to joining WKU Public Radio, she most recently worked at WHAS in Louisville and WLAC in Nashville. She has received numerous awards from the Associated Press, including Best Reporter in Kentucky. Many of her stories have been heard on NPR.
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