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Beshear Says State Agencies Making Preparations For Same-Sex Marriage Decision

With a Supreme Court decision expected any day now, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear says state agencies are making preparations should the justices allow same-sex marriage nationwide.

Beshear recently said one area where preparations are being made is taxation.

"You know, our revenue department is looking at that, in terms of filing a joint married return," he said.

The wording on marriage license forms would also have to change to accommodate same-sex couples.

Many legal scholars expect the Supreme Court to strike down Kentucky’s prohibition on gay marriage.

After a federal judge in Kentucky struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage last year,  Beshear appealed the ruling after Attorney General Jack Conway declined to do so.

The case has now made its way up to the Supreme Court, along with cases from Ohio, Tennessee and Michigan.

The state has paid around $200,000 in attorney fees to defend the ban. Beshear said it was money well spent.

"Right now we’ve got a hodgepodge of different statutes, constitutional amendments, court rulings, that are really conflicting all over this country," he said. "I don’t think that’s fair to anybody. I think that both sides on this issue deserve a finality.”

Beshear has refused to disclose his personal beliefs on gay marriage and maintains he chose to defend the ban to get a final resolution from the nation’s highest court.