Filed Date: Sept. 10, 2013
Closed Date: 2015
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On September 10, 2013, a same-sex couple filed this lawsuit in the Franklin County Circuit Court. The plaintiffs sued the Governor, the Country Clerk for Fayette County, and the Attorney General of Kentucky under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The plaintiffs, represented by the Kentucky Equality Federation, asked the court for a declaratory judgment that excluding them and other same-sex couples from the privileges and protections of marriage was a violation of both the United States and Kentucky constitutions. They further sought a permanent injunction enjoining state from denying them and other same-sex couples the right to marry.
The named plaintiffs had been together for more than twenty years and had already been married in Connecticut. The plaintiffs claimed that, while residing in Kentucky, they had been denied the protections of marriage. In particular, neither plaintiff could be listed as a beneficiary on his partner's retirement. The plaintiffs claimed that Kentucky's ban on same-sex marriage was in violation of the equal protection and due process requirements of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. They further argued that the ban violated Sections 1, 3, 59, and 60 of the Kentucky State Constitution which afford citizens privacy protection.
In 2015 Judge Thomas Wingate ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and found Kentucky's ban on same-sex marriage in violation of both the United States and Kentucky constitutions. Given the United States Supreme Court's pending decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, Judge Wingate stayed his order.
Summary Authors
Gabriela Hybel (2/6/2017)
Obergefell v. Hodges, Southern District of Ohio (2013)
Wingate, Thomas (Kentucky)
Wingate, Thomas (Kentucky)
Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 1:47 p.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Kentucky
Case Type(s):
Public Benefits/Government Services
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Sept. 10, 2013
Closing Date: 2015
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Two same-sex couples seeking recognition of their marriages within the state of Kentucky
Plaintiff Type(s):
Non-profit NON-religious organization
Public Interest Lawyer: Unknown
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Unknown
Class Action Outcome: Unknown
Defendants
Commonwealth of Kentucky, State
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Issues
General:
LGBTQ+:
Discrimination-basis: