Judge set to issue key Ohio gay marriage ruling

0

CINCINNATI (AP) — A federal judge is expected to issue
what could be the most sweeping ruling yet for gay marriage in Ohio by
ordering the state to recognize the marriages of gay couples who wed in
other states that allow same-sex marriage.
Judge Timothy Black
indicated in court on April 4 that he expects to rule on Monday,
ordering Ohio to recognize out-of-state gay marriages because the
state’s ban violates constitutional rights and denies a fundamental
right for people to marry the person of their choosing.
His ruling
would allow gay couples in Ohio to obtain the same benefits as any
other married couple in the state, including property rights and the
right to make some medical decisions for their partner. The ruling would
not directly impact any other state but Ohio.
Black is not expected to force Ohio to allow gay marriages to be performed in the state.
The
state plans to appeal Black’s ruling, arguing that Ohio has a sovereign
right to ban gay marriage, which voters did overwhelmingly in 2004.
Attorneys
for the state also have said that they’ll ask Black to issue a stay of
his ruling to stop it from going into effect immediately as their appeal
is pending if he doesn’t automatically do so.
Ohio Attorney
General Mike DeWine told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he
believes marriage is between a man and woman, and that Ohio voters
decided the same in 2004 when they passed the statewide gay marriage
ban.
"My job as attorney general is to defend statutes and defend
Ohio’s constitutional provisions," he said. "This was voted on by voters
so my job is to do that."
DeWine declined to speculate what the outcome of the state’s appeal will be or the future of gay marriage
rights as a whole.
"Every
state is having a lively debate over this and I think that’s a proper
thing to do," he said. "I think it’s pretty obvious that all these
issues are going to be resolved by the 6th Circuit and some cases are
going to get to the Supreme Court. They’re going to have a decision in
the United States Supreme Court and we’re all going to have to accept
that."
Gay marriage is legal in 17 states and Washington, D.C.
Federal judges recently have struck down gay marriage bans in Michigan,
Utah, Texas, Oklahoma and Virginia, though stays have been issued
pending appeals.
Similar to Ohio’s expected ruling, judges in
Kentucky and Tennessee have ordered state officials to recognize
out-of-state gay marriages. The Kentucky decision has been stayed
pending appeal, while Tennessee’s ruling applies to only three couples.
Al
Gerhardstein, the Cincinnati civil rights attorney who has filed three
gay marriage lawsuits in Ohio since June, said that several gay couples
who want to win the right to marry in Ohio have contacted him and that
he’s strongly considering filing a new lawsuit on their behalf aimed at
striking down Ohio’s gay marriage ban entirely.
"The ultimate goal is full marriage equality," Gerhardstein said.
___
Follow Amanda Lee Myers on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AmandaLeeAP
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.

No posts to display