LOUISIANA: Judge Surprises By Deciding To Consider Full Marriage Equality As Well As Out-Of-State Recognition

And the hits just keep coming:

The attorneys stuck to one specific issue as they made their case before a judge in New Orleans on Wednesday: whether gay and lesbian couples married legally in other states should be recognized as married in Louisiana, which has a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman had other ideas. After hearing about an hour and half of oral arguments on the question before him, Feldman announced that he wants to decide on both issues involved in gay marriage lawsuits going on around the country; in other words, not just whether Louisiana must recognize legal marriages from elsewhere, but whether Louisiana must also allow same-sex couples to wed here. “I feel uncomfortable resolving some issues one way or the other and not all issues one way or another,” Feldman said before calling lawyers for both sides into a private conference to sketch out a time line for additional briefs and oral arguments.

This certainly bodes well, but it may mean the ruling will take longer to come. (Tipped by JMG reader Chris)