WASHINGTON - Today a federal judge announced he will strike down Ohio's constitutional amendment banning the state from recognizing same-sex marriages performed in states where they are legal. The case Henry V. Wymyslo, was brought by legally married same-sex couples living in Ohio who wish to be listed as married on their children's' birth certificates.
"For the second time Judge Black has affirmed that the marriages of committed and loving same-sex couples must be recognized by the state of Ohio," said Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin. "Since the Supreme Court's landmark marriage equality rulings last June, not a single state marriage ban has survived a federal court challenge. It's only a matter of time before marriage equality is the law of the land in not just Ohio, but every corner of America."
This is one of at least 55 marriage equality court cases working their way through the judicial system across the country. These cases have been filed in 28 states plus Puerto Rico and account for nearly 250 plaintiffs taking on state marriage bans. Same-sex couples can legally marry in seventeen states and the District of Columbia, while 33 states have a law or constitutional amendment restricting marriage to the union of one man and one woman.
After today's court hearing, Susan Sommer, Director of Constitutional Litigation for Lambda Legal, issued the following statement: "We're thrilled that the judge announced today in court that he will issue a ruling declaring Ohio's ban on recognizing out-of-state marriages unconstitutional, and requiring Ohio to give full faith and credit to our clients' out-of-state adoption decree. The judge's ruling, expected on April 14th, will bring much needed relief to same-sex couples whose marriages are disrespected by Ohio's discriminatory laws, which created not only a second-class of families by nullifying legal marriages from other states, but also a second-class of parents, where one could be listed on a birth certificate, and one could not. Children will have the security of both parents listed on their birth certificates, a vital document in a child's day-to-day life."
Plaintiffs include four married same-sex couples seeking an order requiring the State to place the names of both parents on the birth certificates of their children. Three lesbian couples are expecting children to be born in Ohio. One of the couples is a married same-sex couple living in New York City whose adopted son was born in Ohio. The Ohio Department of Health, the agency charged with issuing birth certificates, is not issuing or amending birth certificates to name both parents.
Susan Sommer, Director of Constitutional Litigation for Lambda Legal, joins Al Gerhardstein of Gerhardstein & Branch, as well as Jennifer Branch, Jaci Gonzales Martin, Ellen Essig and Lisa Meeks of Cincinnati. Also on the case for Lambda Legal is M. Curry Cook, National Director of the Youth in Out-of-Home Care Project and Paul Castillo, Staff Attorney.
Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, released the following statement: "Today's decision will make a real difference to legally married gay Ohio couples, affirming that their home state may not deny them and their families legal protections and the basic dignity of treating them as what they are: married. Couples should not have to wonder whether they are still married or not depending on what state line they've crossed. This common-sense and constitutional ruling adds to the momentum across the country in favor of the freedom to marry."
Another case out of Ohio, Obergefell v. Kasich, has been appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit after Judge Black ruled the state's marriage ban is unconstitutional in prohibiting the state from including the names of surviving same-sex spouses on death certificates.
For more information on this and other marriage equality court cases across the country, visit www.americansformarriageequality.org .