Judge rules Kansas must allow gay marriage while lawsuit pending

A federal judge has ruled that Kansas must allow same-sex couples to marry while the courts consider a lawsuit against the state’s constitutional definition of marriage. The American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of two same-sex couples who sought marriage licenses in Kansas after the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that similar laws defining marriage as between one man and one woman in other states were unconstitutional. That ruling went into effect after the Supreme Court in October refused to hear appeals of the issue from multiple circuits across the country.

Judge Daniel Crabtree in Kansas City, Kan., gave the state until 5 p.m. on Nov. 11 to appeal before the preliminary injunction goes into effect. A final ruling would depend on the outcome of the lawsuit. Kansas remains the only state in the 10th Circuit that has not seen its marriage law overturned by the courts.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.