Oral arguments have ended in a federal appeals court in Cincinnati, where judges heard challenges to same-sex marriage bans in Kentucky and three other states.
Kentucky’s same-sex marriage ban was overturned in February by District Judge John Heyburn, who said it violated the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause. Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway declined to appeal the decision, so Governor Steve Beshear hired private counsel for the appeal.
Kentucky Public Radio’s Jonathan Meador was in Cincinnati for the hearing, and says attorneys for Beshear again reiterated their argument that allowing same-sex marriage would hurt the commonwealth’s birth rate.
“The state once again doubled-down on its procreation argument, essentially that same-sex couples, because they can’t biologically procreate, that’s a detriment to the state’s economic future, in terms of population stability,” Meador said.
He added that Clinton-appointee Martha Daughtrey seemed the most critical of Kentucky’s argument, calling it “circular logic.”
A decision in the case isn’t expected for several months.
