Judge Strikes Down Idaho’s Same-Sex Marriage Ban

A federal magistrate judge ruled Tuesday that Idaho’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Magistrate Judge Candy Dale wrote in the decision that Idaho’s laws banning same-sex marriage unconstitutionally deny gay and lesbian citizens their fundamental right to marry.

Dale said marriage works a fundamental change on the lives of all who experience it, and it holds immense personal and spiritual significance.

Idaho’s laws wrongly stigmatize gay and lesbian couples and relegate their families to second-class status without sufficient reason, she said.

Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter already has said he intends to appeal the case.

“In 2006, the people of Idaho exercised their fundamental right, reaffirming that marriage is the union of a man and a woman,” Otter said in a statement. TRUNews