Miss. Attorneys Seek to Uphold Ban on Gay Marriage

BY EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – The Mississippi governor and attorney general are asking a federal judge to uphold the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.

The state made the request in court papers Monday, responding to a lawsuit filed Oct. 20 by two lesbian couples and a gay-rights group, Campaign for Southern Equality.

The lawsuit seeks to overturn the ban, saying Mississippi violates constitutional rights of gays and lesbians and denies same-sex couples the “rights, benefits and duties that automatically come with marriage.”

The attorney general and governor say Mississippi’s marriage laws don’t discriminate.

In November 2004, Mississippi voters approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as one man and one woman.

A federal judge will hear arguments Wednesday as plaintiffs seek to block the state from enforcing its same-sex marriage ban while the lawsuit is pending.