Virginia Gay-Marriage Ban Unconstitutional Says U.S. Judge

@AFP
Virginia Gay-Marriage Ban Unconstitutional Says U.S. Judge

Washington (AFP) – A federal judge in Virginia ruled the state’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, on the heels of two similar rulings in other U.S. states.

U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen stayed her decision, however, meaning gay couples in Virginia, which borders Washington, D.C., will not be able to marry until appeals are heard.

“The court is compelled to conclude that Virginia’s marriage laws unconstitutionally deny Virginia’s gay and lesbian citizens the fundamental freedom to choose to marry,” Wright Allen said in her ruling.

“Government interests in perpetuating traditions, shielding state matters from federal interference, and favoring one model of parenting over others must yield to this country’s cherished protections that ensure the exercise of the private choices of the individual citizen regarding love and family.”

In a similar move, a U.S. federal judge struck down the state of Oklahoma’s ban on same-sex marriage in mid-January, saying it was unconstitutional, one month after a similar action by a federal judge in Utah.

It follows a landmark Supreme Court decision in June finding that couples in same-sex marriages were entitled to the same benefits and protections as their heterosexual counterparts.

Marriage laws are governed by individual U.S. states, nearly 30 of which have amended their constitutions to ban same-sex marriage.

Efforts to give same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexuals have gathered steam in recent years in the U.S.

AFP Photo/Jay Paul

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

How A Stuttering President Confronts A Right-Wing Bully

Donald Trump mocks Joe Biden’s stutter,” the headlines blare, and I am confronted (again) with (more) proof that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee hates people like me.

Keep reading...Show less
Trump at Trump Tower

Former President Donald Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - Donald Trump faces a Monday deadline to post a bond to cover a $454 million civil fraud judgment or face the risk of New York state seizing some of his marquee properties.Trump, seeking to regain the presidency this year, must either pay the money out of his own pocket or post a bond while he appeals Justice Arthur Engoron's February 16 judgment against him for manipulating his net worth and his family real estate company's property values to dupe lenders and insurers.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}