KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A federal judge has set a hearing this week to hear arguments over whether he should order Kansas to allow same-sex marriages.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree has scheduled a hearing for Friday at the federal courthouse in Kansas City, Kansas.

At issue is the request by the American Civil Liberties Union for a temporary injunction that would bring Kansas into line with a binding 10th Circuit Court of Appeals precedent set in other cases.

The ACLU argues gay couples should not be prevented from marrying, while government officials have vowed to defend the state’s constitutional prohibition against gay marriages.

The ACLU contends that a federal ruling specific to Kansas law would aid the state Supreme Court in a separate case.

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