Arkansas Judge Strikes Down Same-sex Marriage Law

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza struck down Arkansas’ ban on same-sex marriages — the latest judicial ruling to overturn a state’s law defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

The case challenges a statute passed in 1997 and a constitutional amendment to the Arkansas Constitution, approved by voters in 2004. Both exclude same-sex couples from marriage and forbid the state from recognizing same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions.

The case, Wright v. Arkansas, is one of several Arkansas cases and resembles suits in other states.

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia allow for same-sex marriages, while 33 states currently prohibit the practice.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, who said last week that he supported marriage equality, said he will quickly appeal Judge Piazza’s ruling. McDaniel has said he will defend the law as part of his constitutional duty, despite his opposition to the amendment.