RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A federal appeals court has tentatively scheduled May arguments on Virginia’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriages. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals outlined a schedule Monday that will expedite the case to the Richmond court, with briefs scheduled for later this month. The 4th Circuit will hear appeals of a federal judge’s ruling declaring the state’s ban on same-sex marriages unconstitutional. The expedited review had been sought by two same-sex couples who challenged the ban as well as Attorney General Mark Herring. A federal judge in Norfolk ruled the state ban unconstitutional but delayed her ruling while it is appealed. That means gay couples in Virginia still can’t marry until the case is ultimately resolved. The Virginia challenge could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
