Same-sex marriage in Mississippi

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Same-sex marriage has been legal in Mississippi since June 26, 2015. On November 25, 2014, U.S. District Court Judge Carlton W. Reeves of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi ruled that Mississippi's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Enforcement of his ruling was stayed pending appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples violates the U.S. Constitution. On June 29, Attorney General Jim Hood ordered clerks to comply with the court ruling and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Fifth Circuit lifted its stay on July 1, and Judge Reeves ordered an end to Mississippi's enforcement of its same-sex marriage ban. However, until July 2, 2015, several counties in Mississippi continued to refuse to issue marriage licenses, including DeSoto, Jasper, Jones, Newton, Pontotoc, Simpson and Yalobusha. [1] [2]

Contents

In 1978, a same-sex couple was refused a marriage license. In 1994, another same-sex couple, Todd Emerson and Luis Cintron, applied for a license in Ocean Springs but were rejected. [3]

Restrictions

On August 24, 1996, Governor Kirk Fordice issued an executive order banning same-sex marriage in the state. [4] On January 10, 1997, the Mississippi State Senate passed a bill banning same-sex marriage in the state. On February 5, 1997, the House of Representatives passed the bill, and Governor Kirk Fordice signed it into law on February 12. It went into effect on the same day. [5]

On March 1, 2004, the Mississippi House of Representatives, by a 97 to 17 vote, approved Amendment 1, a constitutional amendment defining marriage as "only between a man and a woman" and denying recognition to same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. The Mississippi Senate passed it on April 7 by a 51 to 0 vote, and voters approved it on November 4 with 86% of the vote. [6] [7] [8]

Lawsuits

Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant

The Campaign for Southern Equality and two lesbian couples filed suit in federal district court on October 20, 2014, challenging Mississippi's statutory and constitutional denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples. Each of the couples was raising two children and one couple had previously married in Maine. Their principal attorney was Roberta Kaplan, who had argued United States v. Windsor before the U.S. Supreme Court. They named as defendants Governor Phil Bryant and Attorney General Jim Hood, and the Hinds County circuit clerk who denied a marriage license to one of the plaintiff couples. [9] [10] U.S. District Court Judge Carlton W. Reeves held a hearing on motions for summary judgment on November 12. [11] He ruled for the plaintiffs on November 25, finding that the state's ban did not survive rational basis review. Although Fifth Circuit precedent prevented him from using a stricter standard when considering discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, he argued at length that the proper standard to use would be "heightened scrutiny" and he suggested the Fifth Circuit consider revisiting the question. He stayed his ruling for 14 days to allow the defendants to request a longer stay from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals or the U.S. Supreme Court. [12] [13]

The state defendants asked the Fifth Circuit for a stay pending appeal the next day. [14] This stay was immediately opposed by the plaintiffs, [15] who also filed a motion to expedite the appeal to coincide with hearings for a Texas case, De Leon v. Perry , and a Louisiana case, Robicheaux v. George . [16] On December 4, the Fifth Circuit agreed to expedite the case, but not to consolidate oral arguments with its other same-sex marriage cases. [17] It issued a stay pending appeal the same day. [18] The Fifth Circuit heard oral arguments on January 9, 2015, before Judges Patrick Higginbotham, Jerry Edwin Smith, and James E. Graves Jr. [19]

Czekala-Chatham v. Melancon

A lesbian couple, residents of Mississippi who had married in California in 2008, asked the state to recognize their marriage in order to allow them to divorce. The lawsuit was filed in DeSoto County, in Mississippi's Third District Chancery Court, in September 2013. The Mississippi Attorney General's office intervened in their divorce suit, Czekala-Chatham v. Melancon. The plaintiffs contended that "there can be no legitimate state purpose in allowing bigamous or incestuous couples to divorce and not allowing the same remedy to same-sex couples". [20] The Third District Chancery Court dismissed their case for lack of jurisdiction. [21] On appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court took jurisdiction and allowed Governor Bryant, represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, to intervene to support the state's position. [22] That court heard oral arguments on January 21, 2015. [23] On February 24, the court, after noting that all parties agreed proceedings should be stayed pending action by the U.S. Supreme Court in related cases, asked for additional briefs. Six justices supported that request, one objected that nothing would be gained, and two objected that it was only "a delay tactic" and the court should find the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. [24]

On July 2, 2015, Attorney General Hood, citing the previous week's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell, asked the court to grant the divorce he had previously opposed. [25] On November 5, 2015, in a 5–4 ruling, the Mississippi Supreme Court remanded the case to the Third District Chancery Court in light of Obergefell. The court ruled that the plaintiffs' requested relief, which the Attorney General had already agreed, was consistent with Obergefell and thus ruled in favor of Czekala-Chatham. Forming the five-justice majority were Justices Bill Waller Jr., Michael K. Randolph, Ann Hannaford Lamar, David A. Chandler, and Randy G. Pierce. Justices Josiah D. Coleman and Jess H. Dickinson each joined each other's dissents, disagreeing with Obergefell and questioning the decision's constitutional authority. Justice Pierce, joined by Chandler, wrote a separate concurrence accusing Justices Coleman and Dickinson of violating their oath of office by refusing to follow a ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court. Justice Leslie D. King, joined by James W. Kitchens, dissented, though they agreed Czekala-Chatham received the proper relief. Justice King wrote that, "While I am satisfied that the right result for Czekala-Chatham has been reached, I believe this Court does a great disservice to the jurisprudence of this State by reaching such result in an order, rather than issuing a precedential opinion. Consequently, I object to issuing this decision via order." [26]

On December 1, 2015, Chancellor Mitchell Lundy, Jr. granted the divorce. He apologized to Czekala-Chatham for denying the original divorce in December 2013, but explained that he felt he had no other choice due to Mississippi's refusal to recognize their marriage at the time.

Obergefell v. Hodges

On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples violates the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. Following the decision, Attorney General Jim Hood said: "The Supreme Court's decision is not immediately effective in Mississippi. It will become effective in Mississippi, and circuit clerks will be required to issue same-sex marriage licenses, when the 5th Circuit lifts the stay" and allows Judge Reeves' order to take effect. [27] Governor Bryant and Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves condemned the ruling. State Representative Andy Gipson, chair of the Mississippi House Judiciary Committee, suggested the state should consider having "no marriage certificate sponsored by the state". [28]

The plaintiffs filed a motion the same day asking the Fifth Circuit to lift its stay of that order. Attorney General Hood did not oppose that motion, but Governor Bryant did. [29] On June 29, Hood issued an email to county clerks to clarify his earlier statement which, he wrote, "seems to have been misinterpreted as prohibiting Circuit Clerks from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The statement was merely meant to explain that an order of the Fifth Circuit would be necessary to lift the stay." He wrote: "Obergefell is the law of the land. If a clerk has issued or decides to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple, there will be no adverse action taken by the Attorney General against that circuit clerk on behalf of the State.... On the other hand, a clerk who refuses to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple could be sued by the denied couple and may face liability." [30] On July 1, the Fifth Circuit lifted its stay and returned the Campaign for Southern Equality case to the district court, [31] where Judge Reeves ordered Mississippi and its agents to cease enforcing the state's constitutional and statutory restrictions on same-sex marriage. [32] The last counties in Mississippi to refuse to issue marriage licenses, DeSoto, Jasper, Jones, Newton, Pontotoc, Simpson and Yalobusha counties, began issuing licenses on July 2, 2015. [1] [2]

The first same-sex couple to marry in Mississippi were Amber Hamilton and Annice Smith in Hattiesburg on June 26, just hours before Attorney General Hood instructed county clerks to wait for the Fifth Circuit to lift its stay. [33]

Developments after legalization

On June 27, 2016, a federal judge ruled that county clerks in Mississippi may not recuse themselves from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples based on their religious beliefs. U.S. District Judge Carlton W. Reeves ruled that the recusals on religious grounds granted by the Religious Liberty Accommodations Act violated Obergefell v. Hodges. [34] [35] The decision was overturned on appeal by the Fifth Circuit on June 23, 2017, in Barber v. Bryant, on the grounds that the plaintiffs in this case lacked standing. [36]

The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in Strickland v. Day in April 2018 that married same-sex couples should have the same parental rights as married opposite-sex couples. The court overturned the decision of a trial court that Strickland, a non-biological lesbian mother who was denied legal parentage for a boy she and her ex-wife had raised together, was not a parent. The court named Strickland on her son's birth certificate as a parent, and remanded the case to trial court for matters considering child support and custody. [37]

Native American nations

The Domestic Relations Code of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians recognizes all marriages which have been validly performed in another jurisdiction. The code defines marriage as "a personal consensual relationship arising out of a civil contract", and does not expressly forbid same-sex marriages. [38] On May 4, 2016, the Assistant Attorney General, Cheryl Hamby, stated in an official opinion that due to its recognition of Mississippi state law as a "valid means for marriage, same sex marriage is valid in tribal court. Additionally, the tribe will recognize a Mississippi same-sex marriage licence." [39]

While there are no records of same-sex marriages as understood from a Western perspective being performed in Native American cultures, there is evidence for identities and behaviours that may be placed on the LGBT spectrum. It is likely that Choctaw society had a designation like two-spirit for individuals who were born male but wore women's clothing and performed everyday household work and artistic handiwork which were regarded as belonging to the feminine sphere, but a lot of traditional knowledge was lost in the aftermath of colonization and the Trail of Tears for those Choctaw forcibly removed to the Indian Territory. [40] In the Choctaw language, two-spirit people are known as ohoyo holba (pronounced [ohoːjóhólba] ), [41] though the term is relatively modern. Choctaw author LeAnne Howe stated in a 2022 book, "Often they weren't just involved with other men but had many levels of relationships. They were also involved with our community in very special ways. They could be healers. They're people that protected our children because they embodied more than one thing. And what is part of Choctawan aesthetics is that we revere things that are unusual. Different. When you look at the spirit that's connected in [ohoyo holba], and when they put on that dress in olden times, they are saying 'the embodiment of many'." Some female-bodied two-spirit individuals use the term hattak holba (pronounced [hat.tákhólba] ). [42] It is unknown if Choctaw two-spirit individuals were historically allowed to marry.

Demographics and marriage statistics

Data from the 2000 U.S. census showed that 4,774 same-sex couples were living in Mississippi. Same-sex couples lived in all counties of the state, and constituted 0.8% of coupled households and 0.5% of all households in the state. Most couples lived in Hinds, Harrison and Rankin counties, but the counties with the highest percentage of same-sex couples were Tallahatchie (0.82% of all county households) and Marshall (0.74%). Same-sex partners in Mississippi were on average younger than opposite-sex partners, and more likely to be employed. However, the average and median household incomes of same-sex couples were lower than different-sex couples, and same-sex couples were also far less likely to own a home than opposite-sex partners. Individuals in same-sex relationships were also significantly more likely to be African American; 46% of people in same-sex unions were African American compared to 20.5% of people in married opposite-sex unions. 35% of same-sex couples in Mississippi were raising children under the age of 18, with an estimated 2,839 children living in households headed by same-sex couples in 2005. [43]

The 2020 U.S. census showed that there were 3,100 married same-sex couple households (1,173 male couples and 1,927 female couples) and 2,837 unmarried same-sex couple households in Mississippi. [44]

Domestic partnerships

On September 5, 2014, the City Council of Starkville voted 7–0 in favor of an ordinance establishing domestic partner benefits for city employees in same-sex relationships. [45] On January 6, 2015, the Council voted 5–2 to repeal the ordinance passed in September. [46] [47] On January 8, Mayor Parker Wiseman vetoed the repeal, [48] but on January 21, the Council voted 5–2 to override Wiseman's veto and repeal the domestic partnership ordinance. [49]

Public opinion

In a 2016 Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) poll, Mississippi was one of the only three U.S. states where a majority of residents opposed same-sex marriage, alongside Arkansas and West Virginia. In 2021, Mississippi was the state with the highest opposition to same-sex marriage in the country according to the PRRI.

Public opinion for same-sex marriage in Mississippi
Poll sourceDates administeredSample sizeMargin of errorSupportOppositionDo not know / refused
Public Religion Research Institute March 9 – December 7, 2023 167 adults± 0.82%150%46%4%
Public Religion Research Institute March 11 – December 14, 2022  ? ?49%48%3%
Public Religion Research Institute March 8 – November 9, 2021  ? ?44%55%1%
Public Religion Research Institute January 7 – December 20, 2020 286 adults ?47%33%20%
Public Religion Research Institute April 5 – December 23, 2017 586 adults ?42%48%10%
Public Religion Research Institute May 18, 2016 – January 10, 2017 833 adults ?37%56%7%
Public Religion Research Institute April 29, 2015 – January 7, 2016 753 adults ?25%65%10%
Public Religion Research Institute April 2, 2014 – January 4, 2015 536 adults ?32%61%7%
New York Times/CBS News/YouGov September 20 – October 1, 2014826 likely voters± 4.5%29%56%15%
Public Policy Polling November 15–17, 2013502 voters± 4.4%22%69%9%
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research/Target Point Consulting June 26 – July 9, 2013640 adults± 3.9%36%55%9%
Public Policy Polling November 4–6, 2011796 likely voters± 3.5%13%78%9%

Notes:

See also

Related Research Articles

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Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Colorado since October 7, 2014. Colorado's state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was struck down in state district court on July 9, 2014, and by the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado on July 23, 2014. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals had already made similar rulings with respect to such bans in Utah on June 25 and Oklahoma on July 18, which are binding precedents on courts in Colorado. On October 6, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the Tenth Circuit cases, and the Tenth Circuit lifted its stay. On October 7, the Colorado Supreme Court and the Tenth Circuit cleared the way for same-sex marriages to begin in Colorado. Colorado was the 25th U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in South Carolina since a federal court order took effect on November 20, 2014. Another court ruling on November 18 had ordered the state to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. Following the 2014 ruling of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Bostic v. Schaefer, which found Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional and set precedent on every state in the circuit, one judge accepted marriage license applications from same-sex couples until the South Carolina Supreme Court, in response to a request by the Attorney General, ordered him to stop. A federal district court ruled South Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional on November 12, with implementation of that decision stayed until noon on November 20. The first same-sex wedding ceremony was held on November 19.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Louisiana since the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015. The court held that the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples is unconstitutional, invalidating Louisiana's ban on same-sex marriage. The ruling clarified conflicting court rulings on whether state officials are obligated to license same-sex marriages. Governor Bobby Jindal confirmed on June 28 that Louisiana would comply with the ruling once the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed its decision in a Louisiana case, which the Fifth Circuit did on July 1. Jindal then said the state would not comply with the ruling until the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana reversed its judgment, which it did on July 2. All parishes now issue marriage licenses in accordance with federal law.

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Same-sex marriage has been legal in South Dakota since June 26, 2015 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the U.S. Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry. Attorney General Marty Jackley issued a statement critical of the ruling but said South Dakota is obligated to comply and the state would recognize same-sex marriages.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Nebraska since June 26, 2015, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges that the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Following the court ruling, Attorney General Doug Peterson announced that the state of Nebraska would comply and recognize same-sex marriages.

Same-sex marriage became legal in Kansas following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015, which found the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples unconstitutional. By June 30, all 31 judicial districts and all 105 Kansas counties were issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples or had agreed to do so. Kansas state agencies initially delayed recognition of same-sex marriages for purposes including but not limited to changing names, ascribing health benefits and filing joint tax returns, but began doing so on July 6.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Oklahoma since October 6, 2014, following the resolution of a lawsuit challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriage. On that day, following the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to review Bishop v. Smith, a case that had found the ban unconstitutional, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Oklahoma to recognize same-sex marriages. On January 14, 2014, Judge Terence C. Kern of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma declared the state's statutory and constitutional same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional. The case, Bishop v. Smith, was stayed pending appeal. On July 18, 2014, a panel of the Tenth Circuit upheld Kern's ruling overturning Oklahoma's same-sex marriage ban. However, the panel put its ruling on hold pending disposition of a petition for certiorari by the U.S. Supreme Court. On October 6, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the request for review, leaving the Tenth Circuit Court's ruling in place. State officials responded by implementing the Tenth Circuit's ruling, recognizing same-sex marriage in the state.

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The lead cases on same-sex marriage in Kentucky are Bourke v. Beshear, and its companion case Love v. Beshear. In Bourke, a U.S. district court found that the Equal Protection Clause requires Kentucky to recognize valid same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. In Love, the same court found that this same clause renders Kentucky's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. Both decisions were stayed and consolidated upon appeal to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard oral arguments in both cases on August 6, 2014. On November 6, the Sixth Circuit upheld Kentucky's ban on same-sex marriage.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Kentucky since the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015. The decision, which struck down Kentucky's statutory and constitutional bans on same-sex marriages, was handed down on June 26, 2015, and Governor Steve Beshear and Attorney General Jack Conway announced almost immediately that the court's order would be implemented.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Missouri since the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which struck down state bans on marriages between two people of the same sex on June 26, 2015. Prior to the court ruling, the state recognized same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions pursuant to a state court ruling in October 2014, and certain jurisdictions of the state performed same-sex marriage despite a statewide ban.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Arkansas since the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015, striking down same-sex marriage bans nationwide. Prior to this, same-sex marriage in Arkansas was briefly legal for a period beginning on May 9, 2014, as a result of a ruling by Sixth Judicial Circuit Judge Chris Piazza striking down the state's constitutional and statutory bans on same-sex marriage as violating the U.S. Constitution. Approximately 541 same-sex couples received marriage licenses in several counties before the Arkansas Supreme Court stayed his ruling pending appeal on May 16, 2014.

In Brenner v. Scott and its companion case, Grimsley v. Scott, a U.S. district court found Florida's constitutional and statutory bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. On August 21, 2014, the court issued a preliminary injunction that prevented that state from enforcing its bans and then stayed its injunction until stays were lifted in the three same-sex marriage cases then petitioning for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court–Bostic, Bishop, and Kitchen–and for 91 days thereafter. When the district court's preliminary injunction took effect on January 6, 2015, enforcement of Florida's bans on same-sex marriage ended.

Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015), is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States which ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. The 5–4 ruling requires all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Insular Areas to perform and recognize the marriages of same-sex couples on the same terms and conditions as the marriages of opposite-sex couples, with equal rights and responsibilities. Prior to Obergefell, same-sex marriage had already been established by statute, court ruling, or voter initiative in 36 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam.

In the United States, the history of same-sex marriage dates from the early 1940s, when the first lawsuits seeking legal recognition of same-sex relationships brought the question of civil marriage rights and benefits for same-sex couples to public attention though they proved unsuccessful. However marriage wasn't a request for the LGBTQ movement until the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Washington (1987). The subject became increasingly prominent in U.S. politics following the 1993 Hawaii Supreme Court decision in Baehr v. Miike that suggested the possibility that the state's prohibition might be unconstitutional. That decision was met by actions at both the federal and state level to restrict marriage to male-female couples, notably the enactment at the federal level of the Defense of Marriage Act.

<i>Miller v. Davis</i>

Miller v. Davis is a federal lawsuit in the United States regarding the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. After the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide on June 26, 2015, the county clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, Kim Davis, refused to issue marriage licenses to any couple to avoid issuing them to same-sex couples, citing her religious beliefs. She also refused to allow her deputies to issue the licenses, as they would still bear her title and name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religious Liberty Accommodations Act</span>

Mississippi House Bill 1523, also called the Religious Liberty Accommodations Act or Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act, is 2016 state legislation passed in direct response to federal rulings in support of same-sex marriage. MS H.B. 1523 provides protections for persons, religious organizations, and private associations who choose to provide or withhold services discriminatorily in accordance to the three "deeply held religious beliefs or moral convictions" which are specifically outlined in the bill. These protected beliefs are 1) that marriage is and should be an exclusively heterosexual union, 2) sex should not occur outside of marriage, and 3) that biologically-assigned sex is objective and immutably linked to gender.

References

  1. 1 2 Desoto county won't issue same-sex marriage licenses
  2. 1 2 Circuit court clerks refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses
  3. ↑ "Legal Marriage Court Cases". Buddybuddy.com. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Mississippi Governor Bans Same-Sex Marriage". New York Times. August 24, 1996. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  5. ↑ Senate Bill 2053
  6. ↑ "PROTECTING LIFE: ADHERENCE TO THE RULE OF LAW AND JUDICIAL RESTRAINT IN MISSISSIPPI" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  7. ↑ House Concurrent Resolution 56
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  9. ↑ "Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief". U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
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  11. ↑ Foxx, Keegan (November 12, 2014). "Hearing held in lawsuit challenging Mississippi's ban on gay marriage". WAPT. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
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  13. ↑ Geidner, Chris (November 25, 2014). "Mississippi's Same-Sex Marriage Ban Is Unconstitutional, Federal Judge Rules". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
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  28. ↑ Pender, Geoff (June 26, 2015). "Lawmaker: State could stop marriage licenses altogether". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Appellees' Motion for Immediate Lifting of Stay and Issuance of Mandate". June 26, 2015.
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  34. ↑ Whitcomb, Dan (June 27, 2016). "Mississippi clerks cannot claim religious exception to gay marriage: judge". Reuters.
  35. ↑ Judge: Mississippi law creates inequality for gay marriage
  36. ↑ Dreher, Arielle. "House Bill 1523 Becomes Law after 5th Circuit Overturns Injunction" . Retrieved September 25, 2018.
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  43. ↑ "Census Snapshot" (PDF). Williams Institute. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  44. ↑ "PCT1405 Couple Households, By Type". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  45. ↑ Starkville becomes first Miss. city to extend domestic partner benefits to LGBT city workers
  46. ↑ Starkville passes equality resolution supporting LGBT residents, others
  47. ↑ Mississippi town rescinds health coverage for unmarried domestic partners
  48. ↑ "Starkville mayor vetoes board's repeal of equality resolution". Archived from the original on January 16, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  49. ↑ Starkville, Mississippi Officials Override Mayor's Veto, Repeal Historic Gay-Rights Initiatives
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