Saying that the state's ban on marriage between people of the same sex violates the 14th Amendment, a federal judge in Kansas City is ordering Kansas to stop enforcing its ban. Today's injunction takes effect in one week, depending on whether the state appeals.
As we've reported, Kansas has attempted to sustain its ban on gay marriage despite the Supreme Court's denial of any hearings from states that were attempting to appeal rulings that overturned their prohibitions.
In today's ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Crabtree cited a 10th Circuit Court appeals court decision, Kitchen v. Herbert, which states that the 14th Amendment "protects the fundamental right to marry, establish a family, raise children, and enjoy the full protections of a state's marital laws."
Crabtree's ruling came in a case filed by the ACLU in Kansas on behalf of couples whose requests for marriage licenses were denied in at least two Kansas counties.
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gay marriage