MINNESOTA: Three Gay Couples File Suit To Overturn Marriage Ban

Three gay couples have filed suit against Minnesota in an attempt to compel the state to immediately being issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

The couples say the state is violating what they say is their constitutional right to marry. They’re filing their lawsuit Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court. They say the 1997 Defense of Marriage Act was passed in violation of the “single subject” rule of the Minnesota Constitution and should be thrown out. They’re also seeking a court order to compel the state to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Minnesota Supreme Court held in 1971 that state law prohibits marriages between same-sex partners. The couples are seeking to overturn that.

The suit also seeks to overturn a ban on recognizing valid same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions.