Judge Sets Hearing On Arkansas Same-Sex Marriage Case

A federal judge has set a hearing for next month in a lawsuit challenging Arkansas' gay marriage ban.

U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker on Monday scheduled a Nov. 20 hearing over competing motions in the lawsuit challenging a 2004 constitutional amendment and earlier laws defining marriage as between a man and a woman. A group of same-sex couples is challenging the ban.

The hearing will be on the couples' motion for summary judgment in the case, and on a separate motion by the state seeking to dismiss the lawsuit.

The state Supreme Court is considering a separate case regarding the gay marriage ban. The state appealed a Pulaski County judge's ruling against the ban, which led to hundreds of same-sex marriages. The judge's order was suspended while it's on appeal.

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