MINNEAPOLIS (AP/WMOT)— A U.S. Supreme Court Justice says the nation should watch Tennessee’s gay marriage ban as a clue to how the nation’s highest court might weigh in on state bans on same sex marriage.
The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati is set to rule soon on gay marriage ban challenges in Tennessee and three other states.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told a Minnesota audience Tuesday that there would be "some urgency" if the 6th Circuit upholds same-sex marriage bans. Such a ruling would run contrary to a legal trend favoring gay marriage.
But Ginsburg said if the appeals court covering Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee falls in line with other rulings, there's no need “for us to rush."
She said the nation's top court will reach a decision point "sooner or later," while commenting on how much societal attitudes regarding same-sex marriage have changed.
Ginsburg spoke at the University of Minnesota Law School.