U.S. judge in Colorado rules same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional
A federal judge in Colorado ruled Wednesday that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
However, the ruling was stayed pending an appeal.
The Wednesday ruling marks the 25th district court ruling against a gay marriage ban since last year’s Supreme Court rulings.
U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore’s decision stems from a lawsuit filed by six gay couples in the state who requested that the ban be thrown out.
The lawsuit, filed July 1 after the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled against Utah’s gay marriage ban, named Gov. John Hickenlooper, Atty. Gen. John Suthers and Jefferson County clerk Pam Anderson as defendants.
The most recent ruling comes a week after the Colorado attorney general asked the state Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionally of the ban, and to also issue an injunction to stop rogue county clerks granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Boulder County is now the only county in Colorado issuing licenses to couples after the Supreme Court ordered Denver County to stop and Pueblo County voluntarily stopped. As of Wednesday, Boulder County had issued at total of 181 same-sex marriage licenses.
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