Plaintiffs in the lawsuits challenging the Arkansas ban on same-sex marriage say they will deliver petitions to Attorney General Dustin McDaniel tomorrow asking to do do the “right thing” and drop an appeal of a federal judge’s ruling invalidating the ban.
McDaniel hasn’t shown a willingness to do the right thing to date. He leaves office Jan. 1 and has said he’d consult with incoming Republican Leslie Rutledge, a foe of equal legal treatment of gay people, and I’d expect her to be even less sympathetic. Nonetheless, the release:
Tomorrow, Dec. 10, same-sex couples and marriage supporters will deliver the more than 1,000 signatures from Arkansas residents on a petition to Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel urging him to do the right thing by declining to appeal a Nov. 25 federal court ruling in Jernigan v. Crane, which declared the state’s laws denying same-sex couples the freedom to marry unconstitutional. The petition will be hand-delivered to the Attorney General’s Little Rock office by Pastor Randy Eddy-McCain and his husband Gary, who married in New York but are treated as unmarried by Arkansas. The men are plaintiffs in a separate case in state court, Wright v. Smith, which is currently pending before the Arkansas Supreme Court. Those who are joining will meet in Tower Building lobby at 9:15 a.m. on Dec. 10 and proceed to the AG’s office around 9:30 a.m.
By not defending marriage discrimination, like more than a dozen Attorneys General in states across the country have already done, AG McDaniel – who has repeatedly voiced his personal support for the freedom to marry – can bring Arkansas over to the right side of history.
Event Details:
What: Petition Delivery to Arkansas AG McDaniel
Where: Arkansas Attorney General’s Office – Little Rock
Tower Building
323 Center Street
Little Rock, AR 72201
When: Tomorrow, Wednesday, Dec.10, 2014
9:15 a.m.: Meet in Tower Building lobby
9:30 a.m.: Proceed to AG office
Who: Randy and Gary Eddy-McCain, plaintiffs in Wright v. Smith###
Freedom to Marry is the campaign to win marriage nationwide. We are pursuing our Roadmap to Victory by working to win the freedom to marry in more states, grow the national majority for marriage, and end federal marriage discrimination. We partner with individuals and organizations across the country to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and the protections, responsibilities, and commitment that marriage brings.