SIOUX FALLS, S.D -- Six couples filed a federal lawsuit Thursday seeking to block South Dakota's gay-marriage ban, leaving North Dakota as the only state in the country with an unchallenged law prohibiting same-sex weddings.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Sioux Falls, challenges a 1996 law passed by the Legislature and a voter-approved 2006 constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, which means such cases are now pending in 30 states with gay-marriage bans, including Arkansas. The lawsuit also challenges a U.S. provision allowing states not to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.
In 19 states and the District of Columbia, gay couples already can wed, with Oregon and Pennsylvania becoming the latest to join the list this week when federal judges struck down their bans and officials decided not to appeal.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said he's obligated by law to defend the ban and that he believes that voters should decide whether same-sex couples should be able to marry. It's possible that the U.S. Supreme Court or another federal court could hear another state's lawsuit first, which would put South Dakota's case on hold, he said.
A Section on 05/23/2014