South Dakota’s Anti Same-Sex Marriage Laws Ruled Unconstitutional
Monday a Federal Judge declared South Dakota's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. The decision by U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier grants summary judgement to plaintiffs in the case. The judge concluded that South Dakota’s marriage ban violates the couples rights to equal protection and due process guaranteed by the Constitution.
The laws challenged in the case were a 1996 law passed by the Legislature and a 2006 constitutional amendment.
You can read the full decision here.
Referencing Loving v. Virginia, the civil rights decision of the Supreme Court which invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage, the judge wrote in her conclusion, "In Loving, the Supreme Court addressed a traditionally accepted definition of marriage that prohibited Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving from marrying. Because Virginia’s laws deprived that couple of their fundamental right to marriage, the Court struck down those laws. Little distinguishes this case from Loving. Plaintiffs have a fundamental right to marry. South Dakota law deprives them of that right solely because they are same-sex couples and without sufficient justification."
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