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Federal judge strikes down Oklahoma ban on same-sex marriage - U.S. News
Policy matters!? This is not about policy matters. Nobody gets to vote on whether people have the same rights you do.
Oklahoma's ban on same-sex marriage was struck down Tuesday by a federal judge who declared it a fundamental violation of equal rights.
U.S. Senior District Judge Terence Kern ruled in Tulsa that a state constitutional amendment limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples ran afoul of the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the 14th Amendment.
The ruling won't immediately let same-sex couples get married in Oklahoma, however. Kern stayed the ruling pending resolution of a similar challenge to Utah's ban on same-sex marriage, which is being heard by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.
Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights activist group, said it was clear that Kern "has come to the conclusion that so many have before him that the fundamental equality of lesbian and gay couples is guaranteed by the United States Constitution."
But Gov. Mary Fallin said she was "disappointed" by the ruling, noting that the restriction was passed by Oklahoma voters nine years ago with 75 percent support.
"The people of Oklahoma have spoken on this issue," Fallin said in a statement. "I support the right of Oklahoma's voters to govern themselves on this and other policy matters."
Policy matters!? This is not about policy matters. Nobody gets to vote on whether people have the same rights you do.