Open line. The day is drawing to a close with no decision so far by the Arkansas Supreme Court on whether it will stay or stay out of the same-sex marriage challenge until all lower court actions are completed before Judge Chris Piazza.

It would be highly unusual for the Supreme Court to issue a stay with unfinished business in the lower court. For one thing, plaintiffs have asked Piazza for an injunction against enforcement of the law he found unconstitutional. That could quickly “clarify” the “confusion” Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has cited as just about his only reason for asking for a stay. But the Supreme Court, as it did today in challenges of judicial candidacies, can often find a new way to define what is is when it suits.

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So we wait. Vox prepared the map at top. It shows marriage discrimination going unchallenged in only two states. The picture includes 17 states where marriage equality is already the law. When you show the evolving states, with favorable court rulings, the trend toward equality is promising. Said Vox:

The widespread challenges and their successes are why so many LGBT activists and opponents see another Supreme Court showdown on same-sex marriage as nearly inevitable. As court cases continue piling up in favor of same-sex marriage, the nation’s highest court will eventually have to speak up about whether all these lower courts are getting their rulings right or wrong.

Will the Arkansas Supreme Court be the first court in the land to find that the constitutional promise of equal rights — both U.S. and Arkansas — is without meaning for gay couples?

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