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Gay Marriage Ban Struck Down in Deep Red Idaho

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U.S. magistrate Candy Dale struck down Idaho’s gay marriage ban on Tuesday. On Friday, Arkansas’ same-sex marriage ban was ruled unconstitutional by a different judge. The pattern of federal judge after federal judge striking down discriminatory laws barring gay marriages continues. The Idaho ruling has to be especially satisfying for proponents of marriage equality however, because the state is one of the most conservative states in the nation. Mitt Romney defeated Barack Obama by a 65-33 margin in Idaho in 2012. In 2006, an overwhelming majority of Idaho voters approved adding an amendment to the state’s constitution banning same-sex marriages. The language of the ban read as follows:

A marriage between a man and a woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state.

However, Judge Dale argued that majority support for a law was not a justification for denying same-sex couples the right to marry. In her 57-page ruling she argued that:

marriage is a fundamental right of all citizens, which neither tradition nor the majority can deny.

She concluded by arguing that:

The Court hereby DECLARES that Idaho’s Marriage Laws are unconstitutional because they violate Plaintiffs’ rights under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

In addition, she enjoined the state of Idaho from enforcing the unconstitutional amendment that bans same-sex marriages and set the date and time for the injunction be enforced as Friday May 16th at 9:00 AM Mountain Time.

The judge’s decision means that same-sex marriage licenses can be issued on Friday. The state of Idaho will likely have its first same-sex marriages performed later this week.

While opponents of gay marriage may continue to fight tooth and nail against the tide of history, it is clear that judges across the country are recognizing that laws which deprive consenting adults from the right to marry the person they love, are unconstitutional.

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Keith Brekhus

Keith Brekhus is a progressive American who currently resides in Red Lodge, Montana. He is co-host for the Liberal Fix radio show. He holds a Master's Degree in Sociology from the University of Missouri. In 2002, he ran for Congress as a Green Party candidate in the state of Missouri. In 2014, he worked as a field organizer for Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick's successful re-election bid in Arizona's 1st Congressional District. He can be followed on Twitter @keithbrekhus or on Facebook.