Ohio House Rep. John Becker has
reiterated his call to impeach a federal judge over a series of
rulings that chip away at Ohio's ban on gay marriage.
U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black
said last week that on or before Monday, April 14 he would rule in
favor of four gay couples who asked the court to force Ohio to
recognize their out-of-state marriages.
(Related: Federal
judge says he'll order Ohio to recognize gay marriages.)
“In an epic display of arrogance and
incompetence, Judge Black announced that he will require the people
of Ohio to disregard the Ohio Constitution and force the recognition
of 'homosexual marriages' performed outside of Ohio,” Becker's
office said in a statement. “He persists in allowing his
personal political bias to supersede jurisprudence.”
Ohio voters in 2004 overwhelmingly
approved a constitutional amendment which prohibits the state from
recognizing any union other than a heterosexual marriage.
When Black last year ruled that Ohio
must recognize the out-of-state marriages of gay couples on death
certificates, Becker introduced a resolution in the Ohio House
calling on the U.S. House to begin impeachment proceedings against
Black. Even if approved, the measure is merely symbolic.