Nine gay couples on Wednesday sued the state of Colorado for the right to marry and for recognition of same-sex marriage licenses issued out of state, Buzzfeed reported.
The couples sued two Democrats — Gov. John Hickenlooper Jr. and Debra Johnson, the Denver city and county clerk and recorder.
“Our courts and society have discarded, one by one, marriage laws that violated the mandate of equality guaranteed by the Constitution,” the couples’ lawyers wrote in the lawsuit. “History has taught that the legitimacy and vitality of the institution of marriage does not depend on upholding discriminatory laws.”
Colorado passed a law in 2013 allowing civil unions for gay couples, but still bans same-sex marriage.
In neighboring Utah, a judge struck down that state’s same-sex marriage ban in December. The Supreme Court issued a stay on the ruling while state officials appeal, leaving several hundred married couples in legal limbo.
