A federal judge in Utah has struck down a voter-passed ban on same-sex marriage, saying it was unconstitutional.
An appeal is expected in the case, which is the first of many that challenge the marriage amendments passed in the 1990s and 2000s.
SEE RELATED: New Mexico Supreme Court rules same-sex marriage constitutional
U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby said he could not find a compelling reason to permit Utah’s Amendment 3, passed by 66 percent of voters in 2004, to stand.
“The state’s current laws deny its gay and lesbian citizens their fundamental right to marry and, in so doing, demean the dignity of these same-sex couples for no rational reason,” wrote Judge Shelby. “Accordingly, the court finds that these laws are unconstitutional.”
Judge Shelby also said the state failed to show that permitting same-sex marriage would impact opposite-sex marriages, and the state’s fears and speculations were unsupported and insufficient to justify denying gay couples the right to marry.
Utah voters approved Amendment 3 to make it clear in the state constitution that marriage meant the legal union of one man and one woman.
Voters in some 30 other states have passed similar amendments.
In Utah, three same-sex couples challenged Amendment 3. The couples, represented by Peggy A. Tomsic and James E. Magleby, included two couples who want to marry in Utah and another that married elsewhere and want recognition in Utah.
An appeal is expected in the case, which is the first of many that challenge the marriage amendments passed in the 1990s and 2000s.
SEE RELATED: New Mexico Supreme Court rules same-sex marriage constitutional
U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby said he could not find a compelling reason to permit Utah’s Amendment 3, passed by 66 percent of voters in 2004, to stand.
“The state’s current laws deny its gay and lesbian citizens their fundamental right to marry and, in so doing, demean the dignity of these same-sex couples for no rational reason,” wrote Judge Shelby. “Accordingly, the court finds that these laws are unconstitutional.”
Judge Shelby also said the state failed to show that permitting same-sex marriage would impact opposite-sex marriages, and the state’s fears and speculations were unsupported and insufficient to justify denying gay couples the right to marry.
Utah voters approved Amendment 3 to make it clear in the state constitution that marriage meant the legal union of one man and one woman.
Voters in some 30 other states have passed similar amendments.
In Utah, three same-sex couples challenged Amendment 3. The couples, represented by Peggy A. Tomsic and James E. Magleby, included two couples who want to marry in Utah and another that married elsewhere and want recognition in Utah.
