Judge Timothy Black
In most states where judges have ruled that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional, they have ordered the state to begin issuing licenses. In Ohio, one ruling last December was sweeping but implemented narrowly.
In that case Judge Timothy Black ruled that once a couple marries in one state, another state can’t take the marriage away.
Two couples sued Ohio to recognize their out-of-state marriages for the purpose of a death certificate.
Although he wrote that the ban on marriage equality was unconstitutional, he limited his ruling to the two couples for the purpose of the death certificate.
Now, more couples have sued, but the strategy in that state seems to be to chip away at the ban one right at a time.
Four couples are suing the state to recognize their out-of-state marriages for the purposes of a birth certificate. Three of the couples live in Ohio and are expecting a child through insemination. The fourth couple lives in New York and adopted a child born in Ohio.
The couples suing for proper birth certificates are represented by the same attorney who won the death certificate case.
