Six gay and lesbian couples on Thursday
filed a federal lawsuit challenging South Dakota's ban on gay
marriage, leaving North Dakota as the only state without an active
lawsuit challenging the state's marriage ban.
Lawmakers in 1996 approved a law
prohibiting same sex couples from marrying. A decade later, voters
approved a constitutional amendment reinforcing the law.
Five of the plaintiff couples want
their out-of-state marriages recognized by South Dakota. The sixth
couple was denied a marriage license on Thursday. Two of the couples
are raising children.
Attorney General Marty Jackley, a
Republican, has already said that he will defend the ban in court.
“It is the statutory responsibility
of the attorney general to defend both our state constitution and
statutory laws, which I intend to do if a lawsuit is filed,”
Jackley
told the AP earlier this month.
Gay couples can wed in 19 states, in
addition to the District of Columbia, with Oregon and Pennsylvania
being the latest.