A NEW DIMENSION IN SAME SEX MARRIAGES

Virginia same-sex marriage suit granted class action status
Nicholas Tomsho on February 1, 2014 12:08 PM ET

[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Virginia  certified a class action lawsuit  on Friday challenging Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage. "The amended proposed class ... meets the requirements of numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation," US District Judge Michael Urbanski said in his ruling. "Accordingly, the court will enter an appropriate order this day granting plaintiffs' motions and certifying the class." With class certification, the plaintiffs will now be representing all same-sex couples in Virginia, including unmarried couples and those married outside of the state. "We want to be clear that we're fighting for families across the state," said Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia  one of the organizations representing the plaintiffs. Same-sex marriage  has been a highly polarizing issue in the American legal community. Numerous challenges to same-sex marriage bans have arisen before state and federal courts just in the last month. On January 23, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring announced  that he believes the state's ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional and he will not defend legal challenges to it, including the case detailed above. On January 22, six same-sex couples filed a lawsuit in Florida state court challenging that state's ban on same-sex marriage. On the same day, the American Civil Liberties Union  challenged Utah's refusal to recognize same-sex marriages performed after the US District Court for the District of Utah struck down the state's same-sex marriage ban.