Current:Home > MyJack Wagoner, attorney who challenged Arkansas’ same-sex marriage ban, dies -MarketMind
Jack Wagoner, attorney who challenged Arkansas’ same-sex marriage ban, dies
View
Date:2025-04-12 05:06:24
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Attorney Jack Wagoner, who helped successfully challenge Arkansas’ ban on same-sex marriage before state and federal courts, has died. He was 62.
Wagoner died in Little Rock on Tuesday, said Bruce Tennant, an attorney who worked with him at his law firm. Tennant said a cause of death was not yet known.
Wagoner represented same-sex couples who challenged a constitutional amendment that Arkansas voters put in the state’s constitution in 2004 defining marriage as between a man and a woman. A state judge in 2014 struck down the amendment as unconstitutional, which led to more than 500 same-sex couples marrying before the Arkansas Supreme Court put the ruling on hold.
The state Supreme Court didn’t rule on whether the ban was constitutional before the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide in 2015. A federal judge also struck down Arkansas’ ban, but put her ruling on hold.
At the time of the rulings, Wagoner predicted that gay marriage would eventually be legal nationwide.
“It’s pretty clear where history’s heading on this issue,” Wagoner said.
Cheryl Maples, an attorney who had also represented the couples, died in 2019.
Tennant said the same-sex marriage case was an example of the types he focused on. Wagoner had also working on cases involving nursing home neglect and abuse.
“He always wanted to fight for the little guy,” Tennant said.
Wagoner was also one of the attorneys who represented a divorced Arkansas man who had been prohibited from having overnight visitation with his child in the presence of his long-term domestic partner. The state Supreme Court in 2013 reversed that decision.
Wagoner is survived by his wife and two daughters.
veryGood! (993)
Related
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- NHL player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother have died after their bicycles were hit by a car
- A measure to repeal a private school tuition funding law in Nebraska will make the November ballot
- Man arrested in Colorado dog breeder’s killing, but the puppies are still missing
- The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
- Allison Holker, wife of the late Stephen 'tWitch' Boss, teases a new relationship
- Artem Chigvintsev Says Nikki Garcia Threw Shoes at Him in 911 Call Made Before Arrest
- Trump film ‘The Apprentice’ finds distributor, will open before election
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Tom Hanks Warns Fans Not to Be Swindled by Wonder Drug Scheme Using His Image
Ranking
- Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
- Takeaways from AP report on perils of heatstroke for runners in a warming world
- Election 2024 Latest: Trump to appear at Moms for Liberty event, Harris campaign launches bus tour
- Conservative group plans to monitor voting drop box locations in Arizona
- Illinois Gov. Pritzker calls for sheriff to resign after Sonya Massey shooting
- Ex-Florida deputy released on bond in fatal shooting of U.S. Airman Roger Fortson
- Botic van de Zandschulp stuns Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets in second round of US Open
- NHL Star Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and His Brother Matthew, 29, Dead After Biking Accident
Recommendation
Southern California rocked by series of earthquakes: Is a bigger one brewing?
Nvidia sees stock prices drop after record Q2 earnings. Here's why.
Who Is Paralympian Sarah Adam? Everything to Know About the Rugby Player Making History
'So sad': 15-year-old Tennessee boy on cross-country team collapses, dies on routine run
51-year-old Andy Macdonald puts on Tony Hawk-approved Olympic skateboard showing
Child abuse images removed from AI image-generator training source, researchers say
Jack White threatens to sue over Trump campaign staffer's use of White Stripes song
Canadian rail union says it has filed lawsuits challenging back-to-work orders