PHOENIX — Four couples have filed a federal class-action lawsuit seeking to make same-sex marriage legal in Arizona.
The suit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court, claims a voter-approved ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. It seeks to allow same-sex couples to be married and recognize same-sex marriages conducted in other states.
“I think most people expect that this issue will eventually be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court,” attorney Shawn Aiken, who filed the suit, told Phoenix radio station KTAR.
The suit names Gov. Jan Brewer and Attorney General Tom Horne among the defendants. There was no immediate response Monday night from either Brewer’s of Horne’s offices.
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The lawsuit claims certain rights and benefits are denied to gay couples because Arizona doesn’t recognize their marriages.
Some of the couples who filed the lawsuit are legally married in other states.
“Two of the four couples that are plaintiffs were married in California,” Aiken said. “As the law stands in Arizona today, their valid California marriage is unrecognized in Arizona.”
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According to Aiken, there are about 25 lawsuits filed in 15 states that are seeking the legalization of gay marriage.
Should the plaintiffs win the case, Arizona would become the 19th state to recognize same-sex marriages.
New Mexico, and Utah legalized gay marriage last month. However, the U.S. Supreme Court put a hold on same-sex marriage in Utah on Monday.
The suit is Connolly, et al v. Brewer, et al.
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