Couples Sue West Virginia Over Same-Sex Marriage Ban

Gay rights advocate Vin Testa waves a rainbow flag in front of the Supreme Court at sun up in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Justices are expected to hand down major rulings on two gay marriage cases that coul... Gay rights advocate Vin Testa waves a rainbow flag in front of the Supreme Court at sun up in Washington, Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Justices are expected to hand down major rulings on two gay marriage cases that could impact same-sex couples across the country. One is a challenge to California's voter-enacted ban on same-sex marriage. The other is a challenge to a provision of federal law that prevents legally married gay couples from receiving a range of tax, health and pension benefits. MORE LESS
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A trio of same-sex couples are suing West Virginia in order to strike down the state’s gay marriage ban as unconstitutional.

The lawsuit was announced by Fairness West Virginia and Lambda Legal on Tuesday morning, according to Buzzfeed.

“Jane and I have been together for 16 years,” Nancy Michael, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said referring to her partner, Jane Fenton. “We live and work together, and we are raising our son, Drew, together. We have done everything we can to protect and take responsibility for our family but we worry all the time that it isn’t’ enough. We need the protection that marriage affords.”

You can read the complaint here

The lawsuit is the latest example of a host of lawsuits filed against states since the Supreme Court ruled that a federal ban on recognizing same-sex couples was unconstitutional. In Illinois, a week earlier, a county judge ruled that a lawsuit against the state’s marriage ban there could move forward.

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