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Oklahoma Same Sex Marriage Case Appealed to High Court

Tulsa County

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to decide whether Oklahoma's ban on gay marriage is constitutional.

The appeal was filed Wednesday by an organization representing Tulsa County Court Clerk Sally Howe Smith, who was sued after refusing to grant a marriage license to a same-sex couple several years ago.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the couple last month, upholding a federal judge's ruling that found the ban unconstitutional. However, those rulings are on hold as the case moves through the courts, meaning same-sex couples haven't been allowed to marry in Oklahoma.

The ban was overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2004. The couple who sued, Sharon Baldwin and Mary Bishop, challenged the ban shortly thereafter.

Utah also has appealed its overturned ban to the Supreme Court.