Following the Supreme Court’s announcement that it will weigh in on the issue of gay marriage, the group Why Marriage Matters Ohio (WMMO) issued a statement hailing the decision.
“We especially like the way the order was released," said campaign manager Michael Premo with WMMO. “They're asking if the 14th amendment requires state to allow same sex couples to get married and to recognize marriages performed in other states, and we think that that is an easy question to answer. We think it emphatically does provide the right for folks to get married and to have those marriages recognized."
The justices say they’ll review an appellate ruling that upheld bans on same-sex unions in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's office defended the ban in appellate court. Ohio's ban is based on a 2004 constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.
Arguments in the case are expected to begin in April, and a decision should be handed down in June.
Ohio is one of 14 states that do not allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.