Ky. ordered to recognize out-of-state gay marriages/USA Today

Yay!


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/27/kentucky-same-sex-marriage/5864639/

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge on Thursday ordered Kentucky officials to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples performed out of state.

U.S. District Court Judge John Heyburn ruled that Kentucky's Constitution and laws banning recognition of such marriages "violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, and they are void and unenforceable."

In his 23-page opinion earlier this month, Heyburn said Kentucky's ban, which has been in place since 2004, deprives gays and lesbians of numerous legal protections that are available to opposite-sex couples and violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection under the law.

The Kentucky ruling came in lawsuits brought by four gay and lesbian couples seeking to force the state to recognize their out-of-state marriages.