Politics & Government

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.

Idaho Governor Pledges To Continue Fight Against Gay Marriage

Boise State Public Radio News | By Jessica Robinson

Published January 13, 2015 at 10:43 AM MST

Tabitha Simmons (left) and Katherine Sprague received one of Idaho's first same-sex marriage licenses in October 2014.

Idaho's governor vowed in his State of the State address Monday to continue the legal fight against gay marriage.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Idaho since October after a federal appeals court threw out the state’s voter-passed ban.

But Gov. Butch Otter said in his annual address he has a responsibility to defend Idaho's constitution.

“And to do so based on its content now, not on changing societal values since it was enacted or how any of us would rewrite it today,” Otter said.

Last month, a federal judge ordered the state to pay more than $400,000 in legal fees to the attorneys who fought the state and overturned the law.

But Otter and the state attorney general are hoping the Supreme Court will reinstate Idaho’s ban. The justices could decide this week whether to hear a challenge to state bans on same-sex marriage.

Meanwhile, the Idaho Legislature is expected to hold a hearing this year on a separate gay rights bill. Gay rights activists have been asking lawmakers for years to pass a law that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Idaho Governor Pledges To Continue Fight Against Gay Marriage

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