Federal Judges Strikes Down Virginia's Gay Marriage Ban
Overturned in 2-1 ruling
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals held Monday that Virginia's ban on same-sex couples' marriages is unconstitutional.
On a 2-1 vote, the appeals court joined the wave of court decisions declaring such bans unconstitutional. The decision, by Judge Henry Floyd acknowledged both the debate over such laws and, in the court's view, the clear constitutional impediment to laws banning same-sex couples from marrying.
"We recognize that same-sex marriage makes some people deeply uncomfortable," he wrote. "However, inertia and apprehension are not legitimate bases for denying same-sex couples due process and equal protection of the laws."
