HELENA, Mont. — Montana on Wednesday joined 28 other states with legal battles over same-sex marriage, while same-sex couples in Pennsylvania spent their first full day applying for marriage licenses knowing the governor wouldn’t stand in their way.
A federal lawsuit filed by four same-sex couples in Montana leaves just two states — North Dakota and South Dakota — with same-sex marriage bans and no legal challenges aiming to overturn them. That’s likely to change as same-sex marriage advocates there gear up for a legal fight.
State marriage bans have been falling across the country since the U.S. Supreme Court last year struck down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
Gay and lesbian couples can wed in 19 states and the District of Columbia, with Oregon and Pennsylvania becoming the latest to join the list this week when federal judges struck down their bans and officials decided not to appeal.
The Montana couples say their state’s constitutional ban denies same-sex couples the freedom and dignity afforded to other Montanans and robs them of the legal protections and benefits that come with marriage.
Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock released a statement supporting their cause, while the state’s Republican attorney general said he would defend the ban.
Meanwhile, a lesbian couple from Rapid City, S.D., said they also plan to challenge their state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in the coming days, along with a provision in federal law that lets states avoid recognizing gay marriages performed elsewhere. Their attorney said he’s contemplating filing a lawsuit in North Dakota, too.
