Monday, January 6, 2003
Indiana Attorney General seeks dismissal of same-sex marriage lawsuit
A story released today by the Associated Press reports that Indiana’s state attorney general's office has asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by three same-sex couples who want Indiana to recognize their long-term relationships as marriage.
A male couple and two female couples asked Marion Superior Court Judge S.K. Reid to declare that Indiana's law banning same-sex marriage violates the state constitution's guarantee of equal privileges for all its citizens.
The lawsuit was filed by the Indiana Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the couples. One of the female couples is from Hendricks County; the other two couples are from Indianapolis.
In a brief filed late Friday afternoon, the attorney general's office argued that Indiana's prohibition against same-sex marriages was constitutional because the state had a compelling interest in promoting traditional marriages and procreation.
Fisher also said that striking down the same-sex prohibition could undermine the legislature's ability to prohibit other forms of marriage, such as polygamy.
