Judge: Ohio's Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional

Ohio's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, a federal judge declared today, though he did so in a very narrow ruling that will not in itself strike down the ban. Judge Timothy Black ordered only that state officials recognize gay marriages when filling out death certificates. But Black's lengthy decision contained broad language that others are sure to use as the basis for broader challenges to the law, the AP reports. "Once you get married lawfully in one state, another state cannot summarily take your marriage away," Black wrote.

Meanwhile, the US 10th Circuit Court of Appeals today struck down Utah's request for a stay on same sex marriages, after a federal judge struck down the state's ban on Friday, Fox 13 reports. Hundreds of same-sex couples rushed to the county clerk's office in Salt Lake City this morning to get married for as long as the courts allowed it, the AP reports. "We're going to do it until the judge says to stop," one staffer said. (More same-sex marriage stories.)