[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] on Tuesday struck down [opinion, PDF] same-sex marriage bans in Nevada and Idaho [case materials]. The court found that the bans violate same-sex couples’ due process and equal protection rights. The three-judge panel rejected arguments that same-sex marriages are harmful to children of same-sex couples who may be stigmatized. The court concluded:

The lessons of our constitutional history are clear: inclusion strengthens, rather than weakens, our most important institutions. When we integrated our schools, education improved. … When we opened our juries to women, our democracy became more vital. … When we allowed lesbian and gay soldiers to serve openly in uniform, it enhanced unit cohesion. … When same-sex couples are married, just as when opposite-sex couples are married, they serve as models of loving commitment to all.

The court did not rule in a similar case from Hawaii, which legalized same-sex marriage [JURIST report] last year. The appeals court heard arguments [JURIST report] in the cases in September.

The Ninth Circuit’s ruling comes one day after the US Supreme Court declined to rule in all seven same-sex marriage cases before the court. The ruling lets stand lower court rulings, effectively legalizing same-sex marriage in Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, Wisconsin and Indiana. Same-sex marriage bans in states including Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina have also effectively been nullified by the ruling, as they fall under the jurisdiction of appeals courts that have struck down same-sex marriage bans.