Federal judge strikes down part of Kentucky's gay marriage ban
By Emma Margolin
MSNBC 02/12/14 02:34 PM
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/another-gay-marriage-ban-bites-the-dust (http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/another-gay-marriage-ban-bites-the-dust)
Kentucky officials must recognize legally valid same-sex marriages performed in one of the 17 states that allow them, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday, striking down part of the Bluegrass State's law prohibiting gay couples from marrying.
U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II, a President George H.W. Bush appointee, wrote in a 23-page ruling that "Kentucky's laws treat gay and lesbian persons differently in a way that demeans them." He joins nine other federal and state courts to have invalidated bans on same-sex marriage, the Courier-Journal notes.
The state is still allowed to deny gay couples marriage licenses, as that question was not part of the lawsuit.
Rejecting arguments from Kentucky attorneys that the ban served a "legitimate government interest of preserving the state's institution of traditional marriage," Heyburn noted that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against tradition when it struck down state bans on interracial marriages. He also dismissed arguments from the Family Foundation of Kentucky, another party defending the ban, that recognizing same-sex marriages would undermine the institution's role of promoting procreation.
"No one has offered any evidence that recognizing same-sex marriages will harm opposite-sex marriages," wrote Heyburn
Nice, I love seeing these dominos fall. :)
Still holding out here in Joklahoma though. Darn conservatives >:(.
I actually think this is especially big. The finding of no evidence of harm to opposite-sex marriages, while obvious to us, refutes the corner stone of the anti-marriage folks' arguments. Without that, they are completely out of gas.
I'm pretty sure this is headed to the supreme court in a year or two, and unless the justices rule ideologically, it will be hard for them to uphold marriage bans.
I am excited by the AG of VA siding with plaintiffs against the state on marriage equailty. Isn't it amazing only 10 years ago my state VA passed a ban and now even our own government is against it :)
With all these moves in the south I can't imagine that full marriage equality is far behind .