Arkansas' ban on same-sex marriage debated in court LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Lawyers debated Thursday whether Arkansas' constitutional ban on same-sex marriage is a political issue that should be decided by the voters. Hearings went forward in the state Supreme Court and before a federal judge. A state judge in Pulaski County ruled earlier this year that the ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. People on both sides of the issue rallied on the steps of the state capitol in Little Rock before the hearing. "I call on the Arkansas Supreme Court to stand with the people and honor their vote," said Josh Duggar, an opponent of same-sex marriage. During an hour-long hearing, Colin Jorgensen, speaking for the Arkansas Attorney General's Office, echoed Duggar's argument. Jack Wagoner, a lawyer for a group of same-sex couples, told the Supreme Court that people cannot be stripped of fundamental rights at the ballot box. Voters in 2004 amended the state constitution to define marriage as applying only to heterosexual couples. "This court should defer to the democratic process and defer to the voters of Arkansas and hold that there is no fundamental right to same-sex marriage, that sexual orientation is not a protected class under the equal protection clause and that Arkansas amendment 83 is rational and therefore constitution," Jorgensen said. Wagoner compared the situation now for gay couples to the battle in Little Rock over school desegregation. He pointed to the many favorable court rulings that have been handed down since the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the Defense of Marriage Act last year. The argument is that the voters passed it and that ends it. You can't amend away constitutional rights," Wagoner said. Imagine this: what if the people went to the polls and they passed a law that said everybody has to join the Baptist church. Is that the end of it? Courts can't review that? It'd clearly be a violation of the freedom of religion. The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear appeals of lower-court rulings on gay marriage. But the issue is expected to come before the court now that one appeals court ruled 2-1 that states can ban gay marriage.