Gay Marriage Is Upheld in Nevada and Idaho

A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down same-sex marriage bans in Idaho and in Nevada, the latest in a nearly unbroken string of courtroom victories for gay couples.

The decision, by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, came a day after the Supreme Court allowed similar rulings by three other appeals courts to stand, clearing the way for same-sex marriage to start immediately in Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin and to be extended soon to six other states in those circuits.

“The lessons of our constitutional history are clear: Inclusion strengthens, rather than weakens, our most important institutions,” Judge Stephen R. Reinhardt wrote in the three-judge panel’s unanimous ruling. “When same-sex couples are married, just as when opposite-sex couples are married, they serve as models of loving commitment to all.”

Tuesday’s decision will lend impetus to marriage-ban challenges in Alaska, Arizona and Montana, which are also in the Ninth Circuit.

Hours later, the appeals court issued mandates to implement the ruling. As a result, Idaho could begin authorizing the marriages this week, although Gov. C. L. Otter said that the court’s decision was “disappointing” and that state officials were evaluating how to respond.

In Nevada, Gov. Brian Sandoval and state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said it could be two weeks before a final order is issued by a United States District Court judge. But at least one county clerk said she would begin issuing the marriage licenses on Wednesday.

The Idaho case was brought by four same-sex couples who were represented by private lawyers and by the National Center for Lesbian Rights. In the Nevada case, several couples were represented by Lambda Legal.

In its decision, the appeals court found that marriage restrictions in Idaho and in Nevada imposed “profound legal, financial, social and psychic harms” on gay couples and their children, and dismissed as “without merit” the assertion by both states that bans on same-sex marriage promote the welfare of children.

“Plaintiffs are ordinary Idahoans and Nevadans,” the court wrote. “Like all human beings, their lives are given greater meaning by their intimate, loving committed relationships with their partners and children.”

The three judges on the panel were appointed by Democratic presidents: Jimmy Carter appointed Judge Reinhardt, and Bill Clinton appointed Judges Ronald M. Gould and Marsha S. Berzon.

With Monday’s Supreme Court decision and Tuesday’s ruling in San Francisco, the number of states authorizing same-sex marriage, which was 19 last week and 24 as of Monday, is likely to approach 35 in coming weeks, as the legal aftermath of the four appeals-court decisions issued to date plays out.

In addition, another federal appeals court, the Sixth Circuit, in Cincinnati, is expected to rule soon on the validity of same-sex marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.