“The same-sex marriage movement lost its first major case in a federal appeals court Thursday after a lengthy string of victories, creating a split among the nation’s circuit courts that virtually guarantees Supreme Court review,” USA Today reports.

“The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit reversed district court rulings that had struck down gay marriage bans in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. More important, it gives Supreme Court justices an appellate ruling that runs counter to four others from the 4th, 7th, 9th and 10th circuits. Those rulings struck down same-sex marriage bans in Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Utah, Idaho and Nevada and led to similar action in neighboring states.”

Anthony Culler (R), who is challenging Rep. James Clyburn’s (D-SC) for Congress, referred to same-sex couples as “gremlins” and “bullies” in a Facebook post, according to The Hill.

Culler decried same-sex marriage as “a pestilence that has descended on our society, against our will, by those in the courts and government that do not value the traditional family. Same sex couples that seek to destroy our way of life and the institution of marriage are NOT cute and cuddly but rather (for those of you that are old enough to remember the movie), Gremlins that will only destroy our way of life.”

“A federal judge ruled Sunday that Alaska’s ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional, paving the way for same-sex couples to begin marrying in the state for the first time. The state quickly said it would appeal the decision by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Burgess, despite recent higher court rulings striking down similar bans around the country,” the Alaska Dispatch News reports.

First Read: “After the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday decided not to review gay-marriage cases, effectively making it legal in a handful of additional states, Republicans were mostly silent… We’re now four weeks out from a national election and this isn’t going to be an issue anywhere. Can anyone find a single race where same-sex marriage will be a decider?”

“The number of states still prohibiting same-sex marriage probably will dwindle to 14 within a few weeks as a result of the Supreme Court’s refusal to take up the issue Monday, a legal and political reversal of nearly unprecedented proportions,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“Just over 10 years ago it was impossible for a same-sex couple to get married anywhere in the U.S. But by Monday more than half of Americans lived in a state with the immediate prospect of what supporters refer to as ‘marriage equality.'”

Wall Street Journal: “The Supreme Court’s action surprised both sides, especially because antigay-marriage states and gay-rights advocates alike had urged the court to step in. Observers had expected a same-sex marriage case to be the marquee decision of the court’s 2014-15 term, which began Monday.”

Bloomberg: “By passing on five cases involving same-sex marriage, the high court left the issue in the hands of the states and in the process revived its currency as a political issue just a month before the midterm elections.”

Nate Silver: “The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Monday to decline hearing a series of appeals cases on same-sex marriage will have the effect of immediately legalizing gay marriage in Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. When combined with the 19 states (and the District of Columbia) that had previously legalized same-sex marriage, these states have a collective population of roughly 165 million, according to 2013 census figures.”

“That means for the first time, same-sex marriage is legal for the majority of the U.S. population. The 26 states where the practice is not legal have a total population of about 151 million.”

“The 10th edition of the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. begins work Monday with the prospect of a monumental ruling for gay rights that could serve as a surprising legacy of an otherwise increasingly conservative court,” the Washington Post reports.

“Whether the justices will decide that the Constitution protects the right of same-sex couples to marry dominates expectations of the coming term; such a ruling would impart landmark status on a docket that so far lacks a blockbuster case. And some say it would be a defining moment for a closely divided court that bears the chief justice’s name but is most heavily influenced by the justice in the middle: Anthony M. Kennedy, who has written the court’s most important decisions affording protection to gay Americans.”

“The gay marriage bans in Wisconsin and Indiana are both unconstitutional, a federal appeals court in Chicago unanimously ruled, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

“The decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld lower court decisions in Madison and Indiana and helps set up an eventual ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on the historic question.”

A federal judge’s ruling “that upheld Louisiana’s constitutional amendment banning gay marriage didn’t just break a streak of more than 20 federal court victories for same-sex marriage couples, it took a swipe at the apparent unanimity of federal judges to date,” the New Orleans Times Picayune reports.

Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) told the Associated Press that he lost his bid for re-election in a Democratic primary because of his decision to call a special session to legalize gay marriage.

Said Abercrombie: “Republicans crossed over en masse to vote in the Democratic primary, and then the religious factor came in. Doctrinally I was outside the circle and paid for it.”

“A federal judge finalized the order striking part of Utah’s bigamy law and gave one more victory to the family from the television show Sister Wives. The long legal battle over polygamy in Utah now appears headed to the appeals courts,” the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

A federal judge on ruled Florida’s gay-marriage ban unconstitutional and ordered the state to recognize marriages legally performed elsewhere. The judge, however, immediately stayed his order until after the appeals process is completed, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Write Judge Robert Hinkle: “When observers look back 50 years from now, the arguments supporting Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage, though just as sincerely held, will again seem an obvious pretext for discrimination. Observers who are not now of age will wonder just how those views could have been held.”

“The U.S. Supreme Court today stayed a ruling by the Richmond-based federal appeals court that would have allowed same-sex couples in Virginia to marry beginning Thursday morning,” the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.

“The Supreme Court did not give an explanation or release the vote totals.”

A new poll from McClatchy/Marist poll finds that 68% of Republicans say they would be no less likely to support a well-qualified gay candidate.

At the same time, 63% of Republicans still personally oppose same-sex marriage and 60% say they would be upset if one of their children were gay.

Marist Poll: “A majority of Americans favor legalizing same-sex marriage, but there is little consensus about whether the decision should be made on the federal or state level. Supporters of legalizing same-sex marriage think the issue should be decided for the entire country by a federal law. Half of those who oppose it believe it should be determined by the states.”

“And, while Americans’ position on legalizing same sex marriage is a driving factor in the debate, political party affiliation matters, too. Democrats are more likely to turn to the federal level, and Republicans look more to the states. Independents are closer to the Democrats on whether to seek federal or state action.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch: “Same-sex couples in Virginia could get married beginning next week after a federal appeals court on Wednesday denied motions to put its gay-marriage ruling on hold, but the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to intervene, preventing such unions for now, legal experts say.”

“Same-sex marriages from other states would also be recognized in Virginia effective Wednesday, barring Supreme Court intervention.”

“Michigan’s gay marriage ban is set for another legal showdown, only this one involves more players, more judges and likely more drama,” the Detroit Free Press reports.

“On Wednesday, the historic civil rights case that centers on the right to marry heads to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, where three federal appeals judges will decide the fate of same-sex marriage bans in Michigan, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio. In each of these states, a judge has ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, though all rulings have been appealed.”

“A federal appeals court panel today struck down Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage,” the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.

“Today’s decision is significant because it also renders unconstitutional similar marriage bans in North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia – states that are part of the 4th Circuit. Same-sex marriage is already legal in Maryland, which is also in the circuit.”