ALL US GAY MARRIAGE BANS NOW CHALLENGED

The march to marriage equality appears unstoppable in the US, with all remaining state gay marriage bans now being challenged in court.

On Friday, seven same-sex couples in North Dakota filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging that state’s constitutional amendment banning marriage equality.

North Dakota was the last remaining state with a gay marriage ban with no court case challenging it.

Also on Friday, a judge struck down Wisconsin’s constitutional amendment banning marriage equality. This makes it the twelfth state to see such a ban struck down in federal court since the US Supreme Court handed down its historic marriage rulings last June which allowed the federal government to recognise same-sex marriages.

There are now at least 70 court cases challenging discriminatory marriage bans across the US in 31 states and in Puerto Rico.

According to a new poll by the Washington Post and ABC News, 50% of Americans believe that gay and lesbian couples have a constitutional right to marry. Additionally, 56% of Americans and 77% of those under the age of thirty support marriage rights for same-sex couples.

“Where you live should never limit your ability to marry the person you love,” said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin. “All across the country, from coast to coast and everywhere in between, judges are striking marriage discrimination from the books using the US Constitution as their guide.”

Same-sex couples can legally marry in nineteen states and the District of Columbia, while 31 states have a law or constitutional amendment restricting marriage to the union of one man and one woman.