Appeals Court: Indiana Must Recognize One Same-Sex Marriage

A federal appeals court Tuesday ordered Indiana to recognize one same sex marriage because one of the women is terminally ill.

Niki Quasney and Amy Sandler were married in Massachusetts last year and are one of the couples challenging Indiana’s ban on same sex marriage.  Two months before striking down the ban as a whole, U-S District Court Judge Richard Young ordered the state to recognize the Munster couple’s marriage because Quasney is terminally ill with ovarian cancer.  But when the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals halted Young’s ruling on the marriage statute, it also invalidated the emergency order recognizing Quasney and Sandler’s marriage. 

The 7th Circuit is now lifting part of its stay, allowing Quasney and Sandler to again receive the legal relief they sought.  In a statement prior to the 7th Circuit’s decision, Attorney General Greg Zoeller urged the Court to grant Quasney and Sandler’s request if it could find a legal justification to do so.