var addthis_config = {“data_track_addressbar”:true};
The Attorney General for the state of Kentucky this morning announced he will not appeal a federal court’s ruling that his state’s ban on recognizing out-of-state same-sex marriages is unconstitutional. Democratic AG Jack Conway says that if he were to appeal, “I would be defending discrimination. That I will not do.”
But the Democratic governor of Kentucky, Steve Beshear, moments later announced that he will appeal the ruling, and will pay outside counsel to do so. A figure has not yet been reported.
The ruling, handed down last month, forces the state of Kentucky to recognize legal same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.
“Conway’s decision means same-sex couples in Kentucky who were married in other states will be allowed to pursue name changes, file joint tax returns with the state, and seek to have names added to birth certificates,” the AP reports.
U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn issued a Feb. 12 opinion that Kentucky’s ban on recognizing same-sex marriages violated the Constitution’s equal-protection clause in the 14th Amendment because it treated “gay and lesbian persons differently in a way that demeans them.”
The decision arose from a lawsuit filed by two couples who were married in other states or countries over the past 10 years. The couples sought to force the state to recognize their unions as legal. Heyburn’s ruling does not require the state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples; that is the subject of a separate, but related lawsuit. Heyburn expects to rule on that issue by summer.
But Gov. Beshear will have to try to find a sympathetic judge to stay the court’s ruling. In theory, legally married same-sex couples in Kentucky could be recognized by the state, then have their legal status revoked.
Conway last month had asked for a 90-day stay on implementing the federal judge’s ruling, which was denied.
The New Civil Rights Movement reported at the time that “Conway filed his motion for a delay this morning, with a tantalizing tease. He told the court he needed more time to decide whether to appeal Judge Heyburn’s decision. Making such an admission to the court may mean Attorney General Conway is considering joining at least six other Democratic state attorneys general who have announced they will not defend their states ban on marriage equality.”
Conway’s term as Attorney General ends next year. He is term-limited and cannot run again for that office.
Image of Jack Conway via Wikipedia