KENTUCKY: Attorney General Will Not Appeal Marriage Recognition Ruling UPDATE: Governor Steve Beshear To Appeal With Outside Counsel

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway today announced that he will not appeal last week's ruling that his state must officially recognize legal same-sex marriages conducted in other states.

Attorney General Jack Conway's decision means same-sex couples in Kentucky who were married in other states will be allowed to pursue name changes, file joint tax returns with the state, and seek to have names added to birth certificates. The Democrat said at a news conference that if he appealed, "I would be defending discrimination. That I will not do." The move comes four days after a federal judge in Louisville gave the state 21 days to implement a ruling overturning a voter-imposed ban on recognizing same-sex unions. U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn issued a Feb. 12 opinion that Kentucky's ban on recognizing same-sex marriages violated the Constitution's equal-protection clause in the 14th Amendment because it treated "gay and lesbian persons differently in a way that demeans them."

A separate lawsuit seeking to overturn Kentucky's ban on in-state same-sex marriages will be heard sometime this summer. By the same judge from the above case.

UPDATE: The Associated Press has changed the above-linked story. It now reads as follows:

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear says the state will hire outside attorneys to appeal a judge's decision granting legal recognition to same-sex couples married in other states and countries. Beshear's announcement on Tuesday came moments after Attorney General Jack Conway said he would not ask a higher court to review the decision. Both are Democrats. Their moves come four days after a federal judge in Louisville gave the state 21 days to implement a ruling overturning a voter-imposed ban on recognizing same-sex unions.