Six gay couples reportedly sought legal action against the current same-sex marriage ban in the state of Ohio. According to the plaintiffs' lawsuit, the ban violates their constitutional rights. Businessweek said that as the lawsuit further expands nationwide litigation, it is most likely that the case could reach the US Supreme Court.
No state has been able to successfully argue that their laws barring the recognition of same-sex marriage has a compelling interest or rational basis, according to the plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed at a Cincinatti court. The news agency said proponents of gay-marriage had been prevailing in at least 10 state and federal lawsuits beginning September of last year. As of the moment, same-sex marriage is a legal right in 21 US states, although stays are currently in place with appeals pending in four of the states.
"A consensus is finally emerging: the constitution protects the right of consenting adults to love whoever they want. It is time for Ohio to do the same," the couples said in their complaint.
When Businessweek asked the office of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine to comment about the lawsuit, his spokeswoman Lisa Peterson Hackley, said in an e-mail, "(Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine) is prepared to defend the state's constitution and statutes regarding marriage."
In February, a Texas judge issued an initial ruling which says that the state ban on gay marriage violates constitutional rights. This month, the US Court of Appeals had heard arguments on the same-sex marriage state bans in Utah and Oklahoma.
Businessweek said the state ban on gay marriage in Ohio has denied gay couples equal protection under the statute, which includes hospital visitation rights, adoption rights and access to the state's entitlement and welfare safety net programs, the plaintiffs insisted.
Heather Apple and Mary Koehler, one of the couples who has jointly filed the Ohio lawsuit, said, "They want their family to have the same legal and financial stability that opposite-sex married couples enjoy. This is especially important because they are raising children together."
