IDAHO: Judge Promises Swift Ruling In Same-Sex Marriage Lawsuit

Oral arguments in Idaho's same-sex marriage lawsuit took place yesterday and the judge promised to issue a ruling soon.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale told attorneys for four couples Monday that the emotional case raised lots of questions, and that she would get a ruling out in the "relatively near future." She declined to give a specific date, and it wasn't clear if her decision would come before other cases pending across the nation. The four couples, all women, say Idaho discriminates by subjecting them to different tax rules and denying them rights given heterosexual families. Their attorney, Deborah Ferguson of Boise, said the sole purpose of Idaho's 2006 constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage is to subject same-sex couples to stigma and shame.

The couples are being represented by the National Center for Lesbian Rights.