Massachusetts Gay Marriage Appeal Goes To US Supreme Court
by Denise Lavoie
the Associated Press

(Boston, Massachusetts) A federal appeals court on Friday denied a last-minute bid to block legal gay marriages from beginning on Monday, and conservative groups pledged to continue pressing it before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling by U.S. District Judge Joseph L. Tauro, but said it would hear arguments on the request to bar same-sex unions in June, after several weeks of legal gay marriages.

Tauro ruled Thursday that the state's high court acted within its authority by ruling in November that the Massachusetts Constitution allows same-sex couples to marry.

The request for an emergency injunction worked its way through the federal court system just days before the May 17 deadline established in the Supreme Judicial Court's landmark decision. Under the ruling, city and town clerks may begin issuing marriage licenses to gay couples on Monday.