Will the Sixth Circuit Slam the Brakes on Marriage Equality? Probably.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati is one of the most conservative in the country.  Only a rare selection of moderate judges for the panel in these cases could lead to a pro-marriage-equality ruling.

From the AP:

A federal appeals court will hear arguments in gay marriage fights in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee in a single session, setting the stage for historic rulings in each state.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Cincinnati, scheduled arguments in five cases from the four states for Aug. 6. Though the cases are unique, each deals with whether statewide gay marriage bans violate the Constitution.

"I think the way the court's approaching it is significant," said Al Gerhardstein, a Cincinnati civil rights attorney who represents plaintiffs in two Ohio cases that will go before the appeals court. "They see the need to do some basic rulings on core principles cutting across all these state lines. It's very exciting."

Louisville attorney Dawn Elliott, who represents eight plaintiffs in the Kentucky case, said she and her co-counsel plan to make their arguments personal, focusing on the people affected by the ruling. 

 "Our plaintiffs are all planning on being there, because it's harder to say no to somebody when you're looking at them, to say, 'No your marriage is not valid because you're gay,'" said Elliott's co-counsel, Shannon Fauver. 

Correction:  It's harder for human beings to say reject other human beings for being gay; it's what conservatives do all day, every day.