News (USA)

DOMA attorney to lead federal challenge to Mississippi same-sex marriage ban

DOMA attorney to lead federal challenge to Mississippi same-sex marriage ban

JACKSON, Miss. — A federal lawsuit has been filed challenging Mississippi’s ban on same-sex marriage.

Mississippi-flagThe challenge was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Jackson on behalf of two same-sex couples and the Campaign for Southern Equality (CSE).

Lead Lead counsel for the plaintiffs is Roberta Kaplan, who was also lead counsel in U.S. v. Windsor, the landmark U.S Supreme Court case that struck down sections of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in June 2013.

The lawsuit seeks to strike down Mississippi’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, which also bans the recognition of same-sex unions performed out-of-state.

The ban was approved by voters in 2004.

A separate challenge to the ban is pending a decision by the state Supreme Court in a case brought by a lesbian couple who married in California in 2008, and are seeking to have their marriage recognized for purposes of obtaining a divorce.

The complaint is here.

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