Same-Sex Marriage Update

[~baby~doll~]

U.S. Judge Orders Kentucky to Recognize Same-Sex Marriages

By REUTERS FEB. 27, 2014, 3:18 P.M. E.S.T.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/...xmarriage&_r=0

(Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge on Thursday ordered Kentucky to recognize the legal same-sex marriages of residents who wed outside the state, the office of the state attorney general said.

The decision is the latest in a string of rulings that expand gay rights following a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that legally married same-sex couples nationwide are eligible for federal benefits, striking down a key part of the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act.

U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II's decision makes official a February 12 ruling where he said forbidding recognition of the marriages violated the constitutional rights of same-sex couples to equal protection under the law.

One more step toward equality in Marriage