Judge Puts Va. Gay Marriage Case on Hold

A federal judge has put one lawsuit challenging Virginia's gay marriage ban on hold while another makes its way through the appeals process.

U.S. District Judge Michael Urbanski noted in Monday's ruling that the two same-sex couples who filed the lawsuit in Harrisonburg have been allowed to intervene in a similar case out of Norfolk that is scheduled to be heard next month by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He called that a "seismic procedural development" that puts the issue in the hands of the federal appeals court, making further proceedings in Harrisonburg unnecessary.

The judge in the Norfolk case ruled Virginia's gay marriage ban unconstitutional.