La. state judge: Gay marriage ban unconstitutional

Louisiana's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, in part because it violates equal protection rights, a state judge ruled Monday.

Judge Edward Rubin said the ban violated the 14th Amendment and the constitutional requirement that states give "full faith and credit" to each other's laws. His ruling came in same-sex adoption case of Angela Costanza and her partner, Chasity Brewer.

The judge said Constanza may adopt her partner's son and be listed as a parent on his birth certificate. The couple's lawsuit said the state should recognize their marriage, which took place in California.

Laura Gerdes, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Attorney General's Office, said the office disagrees with the ruling and started the appeals process.

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman upheld Louisiana's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. He said gay marriage supporters failed to prove the ban violates equal protection or due process provisions of the U.S. Constitution.

Marjorie Esman, ACLU of Louisiana executive director, anticipates the conflicting rulings at the state and federal level will escalate the issue to a higher level of importance in Louisiana and to a quicker, rather than slower, resolution.

"Martin Feldman is the only judge in the country that has ruled the way he did," she said. "So far this ruling is kind of the odd one out and everything is going the way the Lafayette decision has gone today."

Still, Esman argues that neither judicial rulings will take precedent until the U.S. Supreme Court decides the issue.

Monday's ruling has no legal effect on a Shreveport couple's federal case.

"But it is great P.R.," said L. Havard Scott III, 61, a Shreveport lawyer and husband of Sergio March-Prieto, 45. The couple is one of seven with Forum for Equality seeking to overturn Louisiana's ban on same-sex marriage.

Scott and March-Prieto were married in Vermont in 2012, following a civil union obtained there in 2000, but their marriage is not recognized in their home state.

The couple sees Monday's ruling as a reflection of the way perception on the issue is changing rather than a legal hook for their case.

"The whole thing here is changing people's minds," Scott said. "As this has unfolded over the last couple of years, more have gotten to know their neighbors and met same-sex couples and realized we're not much different than anyone else. The strong opposition we started with several years ago is fading away."

Though he's not litigating the case, Bossier Attorney Mike Johnson said he assisted state attorneys with filing a notice of suspensive appeal Monday asking the court to suspend the ruling from the Lafayette judge while other matters, such as the Robicheaux case in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, are decided.

"There's some obvious problems with the decision today, not the least of which the district court ignored the federal court ruling earlier this month," he said.

Johnson also said the issue is a federal question that should remain in a federal court.

"Here you have a state court judge who is opining about the federal questions without giving deference to the federal court that just decided this matter less than a month ago," he said.

While Esman does not view the rise of a conflicting opinion from the state court as unusual, Johnson finds it very unusual. He said Louisiana voters overwhelmingly decided the issue of gay marriage in 2004 when 78 percent of the electorate approved a marriage amendment.

"The position of the state of Louisiana and the people of Louisiana is very well established. We believe in the traditional definition of marriage," he said. He said the state judge's ruling looks like open defiance and judicial activism.

Still, Johnson is optimistic that Louisiana's ban will stand. "I am very optimistic that at the end of the all of these appeals, when the process is completed that Louisiana's definition of marriage will withstand constitutional scrutiny."

Adrienne Critcher, political director for People Acting for Change and Equality, said the decision is welcome news, considering Feldman's recent decision upholding the ban.

"It's really in line with all the rulings going on around the country, but it's going to be appealed," Critcher said.

For now, she's taking a wait-and-see approach. She expects a stay will be issued to stop the ruling from the taking effect until the appeal is heard and decided.

"We kind of expect that nothing's really going to be settled until this goes all the way to the Supreme Court," she said.

Esman agrees.

"It's just a single judge in a single judicial district. Until the Louisiana Supreme Court can rule on it statewide, you can't have a situation that people where can get married in Lafayette Parish and can't statewide," she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.