MONTANA: AG Tim Fox Vows To Appeal

"It is the attorney general’s sworn duty to uphold and defend Montana’s constitution until such time as there is no further review or no appeal can be made in a court of law. Fulfilling that duty, the state of Montana will appeal this ruling in light of the fact that there are conflicting federal court decisions and no final word from the U.S. Supreme Court." - Montana Attorney General Tim Fox (R), via press release. In a defense brief filed ten days ago, Fox compared same-sex marriage to incest and polygamy.

MONTANA: AG Tim Fox Fights On

Montana Attorney General Tim Fox is continuing to defend his state's ban on same-sex marriage with a response brief that compares gay nuptials to incest and polygamy. The brief also makes the usual blah-blah procreation argument, but primarily focuses on the level of scrutiny issue. Dig into the full brief at Equality Case Files.

MONTANA: ACLU Files For Summary Judgment In Marriage Equality Case

Via ACLU Montana:

In one of the last remaining steps for Montana to become a marriage equality state, the ACLU of Montana today filed a motion for the U.S. District Court of Montana to rule in favor of four same-sex couples suing for marriage.

“We don’t think there are any material facts in dispute, and so the case can be decided without a trial” says ACLU of Montana Legal Director Jim Taylor. “The ban on same sex marriage in the Montana Constitution is the same as the bans that were ruled unconstitutional in Idaho, and Nevada. The four couples in our case are situated the same as the couples who won in the Idaho and Nevada cases. We are raising the same issues that were raised in the Idaho and Nevada cases, and we are optimistic that the decisions of the Ninth Circuit in those cases will convince the District Court to rule in our favor.”

The Ninth Circuit Court ruled in a unanimous opinion last week that Idaho and Nevada’s bans on marriage for same-sex couples are unconstitutional as discrimination based on sexual orientation under the federal Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. Montana is part of Ninth Circuit and federal district courts here use precedents from that circuit to make rulings.

Democratic Montana Gov. Steve Bullock is a supporter of same-sex marriage. GOP Attorney General Tim Fox is not. In July, Fox asked the court to dismiss the ACLU's case. Of the nine states under the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit, only Montana and Arizona remain in play. (Tipped by JMG reader Mike)

MONTANA: GOP State AG Asks Federal Court To Uphold Same-Sex Marriage Ban

GOP Montana Attorney General Tim Fox has asked a federal court to uphold his state's ban on same-sex marriage because it does not discriminate against gay people.

Fox, in documents filed in federal court in Great Falls, denied all the allegations brought by the four gay couples who filed the lawsuit in May. The move was not unexpected, as Fox had said previously he would vigorously defend the ban. Approved by voters in 2004, the ban says marriage is between a man and woman. In his response, Fox asked the court to dismiss the complaint, arguing Montana's ban does not impose an unconstitutional "stigma or second-class citizenship on persons in same sex relationships." The couples, however, allege in their lawsuit that the ban denies same-sex couples freedoms and dignity afforded to other Montanans and that it denies them legal protections and benefits that come with marriage.

A reader tips us that prior to being elected attorney general in 2012, Fox was the attorney for the anti-gay Montana Family Foundation.