Chief Justice John Roberts
Virginia could become marriage-equality state No. 20 on Thursday if U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts doesn’t stay the lower court’s ruling.
Roberts set a deadline of 5 p.m. today for the attorneys representing same-sex couples in Virginia’s Bostic v. Schaefer case to respond to the defendants’ request for a stay of the Fourth Circuit’s ruling overturning the state’s marriage ban. If Roberts rejects the stay request, gay and lesbian couples could begin receiving marriage licenses in Virginia starting at 8 a.m. on Thursday morning.
The Bostic plaintiffs case are represented by Ted Olson and David Boies on behalf of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, who are joined by the ACLU and Lambda Legal. Olson and Boies were the attorneys on the winning side of California’s Proposition 8 case.
If put on hold, Virginia will have to wait until the Supreme Court rules on marriage equality. That happened in Utah when the Tenth Circuit refused to stay its decision, but the Supreme Court put the ruling on hold. Both Utah and Virginia have been referred to the Supreme Court for review.
