Nevada gay marriage ban court date set for Sept. 8

LAS VEGAS — A federal appeals court says it will consider Nevada’s gay marriage ban on Sept. 8.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has scheduled 20 minutes of oral arguments in the case of Beverly Sevcik v. Brian Sandoval. The court will also hear arguments that morning over similar cases in Idaho and Hawaii.

Eight same-sex couples argue that Nevada’s voter-approved 2002 law defining marriage as between a man and a woman is unconstitutional.

A federal judge in Reno upheld the law in 2012, sending it to the appeals court. In February, state lawyers withdrew their defense of the law, leaving the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage to argue it alone.

Gay and lesbian couples can now marry in 19 states and the District of Columbia.