CINCINNATI, OH (AP)-- Challenges to same-sex marriage bans in four states will be argued this week in Cincinnati, the biggest day yet in a slew of upcoming cases going before federal appeals judges covering nearly half the United States.
A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati will consider six cases from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee on Wednesday.
Arguments on same-sex marriage bans are ahead over the next few weeks in circuit appeals courts based in Chicago and San Francisco. A New Orleans-based circuit is expected to soon schedule arguments.
The circuit courts are the last step before the U.S. Supreme Court, and their rulings will put pressure on the nation's highest court to weigh in. There's been an eight-month streak of federal rulings against bans.