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Little Rock
Circuit Judge Tim Fox held that a state law restricting
parentage identification to heterosexual couples was
unconstitutional in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision
this year legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.
"(The) decision affords the plaintiffs, as same-sex couples, the
same constitutional rights with respect to the issuance of birth
certificates and amended birth certificates as opposite-sex
couples," Fox wrote in his decision.
A spokesman for Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said
she would review Fox’s order before commenting.
"It was a wonderful decision,” said Cheryl Maples, attorney for
the plaintiffs. "It was exactly what we wanted."
The state had resisted identifying same-sex couples as parents
on Arkansas birth certificates largely on technical grounds,
arguing the protocol was established by the Legislature and the
state Health Board and could not be changed without action by
either, or both.
In late November, Fox ruled that the state must record the names
of both same-sex marriage partners on the birth certificates of
the children for three lesbian couples who challenged the
state's rules.
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