A federal judge on Thursday struck down
Guam's ban on gay marriage as unconstitutional.
Plaintiffs in the case, Kathleen Aguero
and Loretta Pangelinana, both 28, filed their lawsuit in April, five
days after they were denied a marriage license in the village of
Mangilao.
Guam falls under the jurisdiction of
the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The court has
struck down restrictive marriage bans in Nevada, Alaska, Arizona,
Idaho and Montana. Gay couples can marry in every state under the
court's control, including California, Hawaii and Washington.
Attorneys representing Aguero and
Pangelinana argued that Guam has no choice but to follow the Ninth
Circuit's decision and begin issuing marriage licenses to gay
couples.
A private attorney was hired to
represent Republican Governor Eddie Calvo, a defendant in the case,
after Guam Attorney General Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson refused to
defend the ban in court. Calvo said that the ban reflects “the
will of the people.”
The ruling is set to take effect on
Tuesday, June 9 at 8 A.M., according to the Pacific
Daily News.
Guam is the first U.S. territory to
have marriage equality.