Kentucky has not exactly been on the cutting edge of marriage equality. However, some recent legal rulings have helped position the Bluegrass State as a place where Kentucky gay marriage may soon be legal.
Gay marriage has never been allowed in the state of Kentucky, and one of the first challenges to the state’s marriage laws came in 1973. Two women were denied a marriage license because the courts claimed the dictionary definition of marriage was a union between a man and woman. However, the state statutes did not limit marriage to male-female couples. Since 2004, same sex unions have been officially prohibited with the passage of Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 1.
Although the state has not been historically friendly to same-sex weddings, proponents of Kentucky gay marriage have been heartened by two 2014 legal wins. In February, U.S. District Judge John Heyburn ruled that the state must acknowledge same sex unions legally consummated outside of Kentucky. Later that year Judge Heyburn also struck down a law that denied marriage licenses to homosexual couples stating it violated the US Constitution. The judge stayed his ruling, meaning gay couples are not yet allowed to marry in Kentucky, pending an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals. Judge Heyburn’s ruling is the latest win in the unbroken streak of victories in favor of same sex marriages since the June 2013 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that invalidated the Defense of Marriage Act. Judge Heyburn also chastised Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear for his comment that the gay marriage ban protects Kentucky’s birth rate which helps maintain the state’s economic stability.
Two groups that continue to fight for the legalization of gay marriage are Kentucky’s Fairness Campaign and Freedom to Marry. The Fairness Campaign is local organization and Freedom to Marry is a group committed to having same sex unions in each of the 50 states.
While the battle for marriage equality is far from over in Kentucky, some recent legal wins have provided hope that Kentucky gay marriage will be a reality in the near term.
