Sotomayor Blocks Kansas Gay Marriage

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has issued an order temporarily blocking same-sex marriage in Kansas. Sotomayor’s brief order Monday puts on indefinite hold a lower court’s order clearing the way for same-sex couples to marry despite a ban in the state. That court’s order was to take effect at 5 p.m. CT Tuesday. Sotomayor acted at the request of Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, but at the same time she directed the American Civil Liberties Union to file a response to Schmidt’s request by 4 p.m. CT Tuesday. The lower court’s ruling resulted from a federal lawsuit the ACLU filed last month on behalf of two lesbians challenging the state’s gay-marriage ban. Sotomayor could quickly reconsider once she receives a response.