Andrew Wolfson

@adwolfson

Lawyers for Gov. Steve Beshear have joined the plaintiffs in asking that the U.S. Supreme Court hear Kentucky's gay marriage cases.

In a pleading filed Monday at the high court, Beshear's private lawyers say that it is "important for Kentucky — and the country — that the court resolve the important question of who has the right to define marriage."

Although the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Beshear, reversing federal court decisions that had struck down same-sex marriage bans in Kentucky and three other states, the filing notes that Beshear has "consistently taken the position that the citizens of Kentucky deserve to have the highest court of the land determine" whether there is a constitutional right to gay marriage.

The plaintiffs — six gay and lesbian couples from Kentucky — filed a petition Nov. 18 asking the court to hear the case.

It could instead elect to hear cases from Ohio, Michigan or Tennessee, which also were the subjects of the 6th Circuit's opinion.

But the governor's motion said the Kentucky cases would be "excellent vehicles" to decide the issue because one involves the duty of states to recognize same-sex marriages performed where they are legal while the other addresses whether Kentucky must allow them within its borders.

"Although there are specific Kentucky laws challenged by the Petitioners, the importance of resolving the legal issues presented in the same-sex marriage dispute is not unique to Petitioners or the citizens of the Commonwealth of Kentucky," the governor's petition says. "Rather, final resolution of the constitutional questions presented in the same-sex marriage debate is equally important to all citizens of this nation."

Beshear hired outside counsel after Attorney General Jack Conway refused to defend what he described as discriminatory laws.

A 6th Circuit panel ruled 2-1 on Nov. 6 to reverse two decisions by Senior District Judge John G. Heyburn II.

In one of them, he held for Greg Bourke and Michael DeLeon and three other couples that Kentucky must recognize same-sex marriages performed in states where it is legal. In the other, he ruled for Timothy Love and Lawrence Ysunza and another couple, the Rev. Maurice "Bojangles" Blanchard and Dominique James, that Kentucky must allow same-sex marriages within its borders.

The Kentucky plaintiffs claimed they are denied benefits given to opposite-sex couples who marry, including breaks on income and estate taxes, while Beshear's lawyers argued that Kentucky has the right to reserve those benefits only for couples who can naturally procreate.

Reporter Andrew Wolfson can be reached at (502) 582-7189. Follow him on Twitter at @adwolfson.