HRC- Federal Judge Announces He Will Strike Down Ohio Ban on Recognition of Same-Sex Marriages

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 4, 2014
Charles Joughin 

Federal Judge Announces He Will Strike Down Ohio Ban on Recognition of Same-Sex Marriages

Judge Timothy Black will issue ruling April 14 prohibiting state from enforcing ban

WASHINGTON  - Today a federal judge announced he will strike down Ohio’s constitutional amendment banning the state from recognizing same-sex marriages performed in states where they are legal.  The case Henry V. Wymyslo, was brought by legally married same-sex couples living in Ohio who wish to be listed as married on their children’s’ birth certificates.

“For the second time Judge Black has affirmed that the marriages of committed and loving same-sex couples must be recognized by the state of Ohio,” said Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin.  “Since the Supreme Court’s landmark marriage equality rulings last June, not a single state marriage ban has survived a federal court challenge.  It’s only a matter of time before marriage equality is the law of the land in not just Ohio, but every corner of America.”

This is one of at least 55 marriage equality court cases working their way through the judicial system across the country.  These cases have been filed in 28 states plus Puerto Rico and account for nearly 250 plaintiffs taking on state marriage bans.  Same-sex couples can legally marry in seventeen states and the District of Columbia, while 33 states have a law or constitutional amendment restricting marriage to the union of one man and one woman.

Another case out of Ohio, Obergefell v. Kasich, has been appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit after Judge Black ruled the state’s marriage ban is unconstitutional in prohibiting the state from including the names of surviving same-sex spouses on death certificates.

For more information on this and other marriage equality court cases across the country, visit www.americansformarriageequality.org

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

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