Virginia Marriage Law Unconstitutional

Affirming a February ruling from a district court judge, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 Monday that Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. "We recognize that same-sex marriage makes some people deeply uncomfortable," wrote Judge Henry Floyd in the majority opinion. "However, inertia and apprehension are not legitimate bases for denying same-sex couples due process and equal protection of the laws." After the ruling, North Carolina's attorney general said it was likely that its constitutional same-sex marriage ban would also be overturned, and announced the state would drop opposition to challenges of the ban. It's time, Ray Cooper said, to "stop making arguments we will lose."