The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday
refused to review a case challenging the constitutionality of the
state's ban on gay marriage, paving the way for the suit to proceed
to trial, the MinnPost.com
reported.
The case was filed on May 11, 2010 by
three gay couples: Doug Benson and Duane Gajewski; Thomas Trisko and
John Rittman; and Jessica Dykhuis and Lindzi Campbell along with
their 2-year-old son Sean.
Benson also serves as executive
director of Marry Me Minnesota.
In January, a Minnesota Court of
Appeals overturned a lower court's ruling dismissing the lawsuit,
saying that the plaintiffs had a right to make their case. The
decision was appealed to the state Supreme Court.
Voters in the state will decide in
November whether to amend the Minnesota Constitution to define
marriage as a heterosexual union. Some supporters of marriage
equality fear that the case could play into arguments that the
amendment is needed to protect the state's current definition of
marriage from being overturned by “activist” judges. But a ruling
in the case is not expected until after the vote.