Arts & Culture

Your Guide To The Legal Battle Over Same Sex Marriage In Idaho

Amber and Rachael filed their lawsuit against Idaho in Nov. 2013. They were married Oct. 15, 2014.In November 2013, eight women -- four couples -- sued the state of Idaho over its 2006 voter-approved constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.The plaintiffs, Susan Latta and Traci Ehlers, Lori Watsen and Sharene Watsen, Shelia Robertson and Andrea Altmayer, and Amber Beierle and Rachael Robertson, say Idaho's ban on same-sex marriage violates equal protection and due process guarantees.Two of the couples have been legally married in other states and two have tried to get Idaho marriage licenses and been denied.Their case went to U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy Dale in May 2014. On May 13, eight days after Dale heard the case, she struck down Idaho's same-sex marriage ban.Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden appealed that ruling in an effort to uphold Idaho's Constitution as approved by voters in 2006.On Oct. 7, 2014, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Dale's ruling, striking down Idaho's ban on same-sex marriage. After more than a week of legal challenges, same-sex marriages began Oct. 15, 2014 in Idaho.

Mormon Leader Defends Stance Against Same-Sex Marriage

Boise State Public Radio News | By Associated Press

Published October 7, 2013 at 9:41 AM MDT

A top Mormon leader says more states and nations may legalize same-sex marriage in the future, but human laws cannot "make moral what God has declared immoral."

Apostle Dallin H. Oaks, in an address Sunday at the Mormon church's biannual general conference in Salt Lake City, said the faith's stance against same-sex marriage might be misunderstood or prompt accusations of bigotry.

But The Salt Lake Tribune reports he urged members to remember that their first priority is to serve God and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' "policies are determined by the truths God has declared to be unchangeable."

Some 20,000 Mormons gathered at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City and millions more watched worldwide via telecasts and the Internet to hear Oaks' remarks on the final day of the two-day conference.

Church president Thomas S. Monson spoke Sunday about the death of his wife, Frances, in May and about the challenges of facing mortality with strength and grace.

Mormon Leader Defends Stance Against Same-Sex Marriage

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