U.S. District Judge Brian Morris has struck down that Montana’s same-sex marriage ban.
The ruling by the federal judge comes in a challenge filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana on behalf of four same-sex couples who sued to overturn the ban.
“This Court recognizes that not everyone will celebrate this outcome. This decision overturns a Montana Constitutional amendment approved by the voters of Montana. Yet the United States Constitution exists to protect disfavored minorities from the will of the majority. Equal protection of the laws will not be achieved through ‘indiscriminate imposition of inequalities.’ Our constitutional tradition does not permit laws to single out a certain class of citizens for ‘disfavored legal status.’”
Judge Brian Morris
ACLU officials argued that Montana was bound by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent decision to strike down similar gay marriage bans in Idaho and Nevada.
Montana is the only state under the 9th Circuit’s jurisdiction that had still been enforcing its same-sex marriage ban.
The ruling takes effect immediately.
