Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear says he will appeal a federal judge’s ruling that ordered the state to recognize same-sex marriages performed outside the commonwealth.
The word from Beshear’s office came just minutes after Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway said the A.G.'s office would not appeal. WAVE-TV in Louisville reports the state will hire “other counsel” to represent it in the case.
Beshear says in a prepared statement that the issue and similar issues being litigated across the country will ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. He says people “need to know what the rules will be going forward.” And he says “Kentucky should be a part of this process."
The governor says he respects the strong emotions and beliefs of Kentuckians on both sides of the same-sex marriage debate and believes that "an orderly process will bring certainty and finality.”