The federal judge who heard arguments
in a case challenging Idaho's ban on gay marriage said Monday that
she'll hand down her decision soon.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are four gay
couples who assert that Idaho's 2006 voter-approved constitutional
amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples cannot stand in
light of the 2013 Supreme Court ruling that struck down a key
provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Idaho's amendment
bans same-sex marriage and civil unions. Similar prohibitions appear
in state statutes.
After hearing arguments Monday, Chief
U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale told attorneys representing the
couples to expect a ruling in the “relatively near future.”
The couples, all of whom are from
Boise, are represented by the National Center for Lesbian Rights
(NCLR) and Boise-based attorneys Deborah A. Ferguson and Craig
Durham, who argue that the state's marriage laws violate the United
States Constitution's guarantees of equal protection and due process.
The couples, three of whom are raising
children, are Sue Latta and Traci Ehlers, Lori and Sharene Watsen,
Sheila Robertson and Andrea Altmayer and Amber Beierle and Rachael
Robertson.
Lawyer Thomas Perry, who is
representing Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter, a named defendant in
the case, Latta v. Otter, told
the AP that “redefining marriage in genderless terms” poses
“significant risks.”