Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage will be challenged in federal court by the state’s American Civil Liberties Union.
The state's voters approved a 2006 amendment to the state constitution that not only bans same-sex marriage but does not allow for recognition of same-sex marriages in other states.
There are now around a dozen such states.
The ACLU is joining the gay rights organization Lambda Legal Defense Fund to claim that the ban violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection under the law.
The legal action comes in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act and, in another case, allowed a court ruling striking down’s California same-sex marriage ban to stand.
A similar challenge is also expected in Pennsylvania to that state’s ban
