Court upholds gay marriage ban

California's supreme court has upheld a ban on gay marriage in the state after voters used a referendum to overturn an earlier ruling in favour of recognising homosexual weddings. But the court ruled that the 18, gay marriages that have already taken place will continue to be recognised by the state government. The ruling is the latest twist in a social battle that is increasingly replacing abortion as a rallying point for conservatives after several states legalised gay marriage in the past years, with more expected to follow in the coming months, while others have passed laws barring them. The California judgement was met with cries of "shame on you" by angry gay rights activists outside the court who said they will not let the issue rest and will attempt to organise a second referendum to overturn the ban.

Gay marriage may be sweeping the nation, but in Puerto Rico it remains against the law. A federal district judge late Tuesday rejected the reasoning used in at least 14 other decisions and said his hands were tied by a Supreme Court ruling that upheld a Minnesota same-sex marriage ban "for want of a substantial federal question. The ruling marks only the second time that a federal judge has upheld a same-sex marriage ban since the Supreme Court ruled last year that the federal government must recognize gay marriages and refused to save California's ban from being toppled. While a judge in Louisiana also upheld his state's ban, federal and state courts from Florida to Alaska have said gays and lesbians have a right to marry. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit in play — an unusual development, since every state in that Northeast circuit already has legalized gay marriage, dating back to Massachusetts in The plaintiffs in the Puerto Rico case have said they will appeal the case to the Boston-based court.

Ruling by sixth circuit court of appeals against Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee sets up prospect of US supreme court taking up the issue. A US appeals court upheld same-sex marriage bans in four states on Thursday, bringing to an end a streak of victories for activists fighting to extend gay rights across the country and setting up a likely supreme court battle on the issue. The decision by the sixth circuit court of appeals in Cincinnati, known as a conservative court, means that same-sex marriage remains illegal in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee. Since the supreme court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act last year, federal courts had issued a string of rulings in favor of same-sex marriage. Campaigners on both sides have asked the supreme court to pick up the issue and make a final decision on its constitutionality.

Nina Totenberg. A federal appeals court in Ohio has decided that four states may ban gay marriage if they wish, splitting from the decision reached by other federal appeals courts in similar cases. Four states that banned gay marriage may do so under the Constitution.