Alaska Governor Vows to Appeal Ruling Striking Down State’s Definition of Marriage
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Mike Watson Images/moodboard/Thinkstock(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) — Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell announced on Sunday that the state would appeal a U.S. District Court ruling that struck down the state’s constitutional definition of marriage.
“As Alaska’s governor, I have a duty to defend and uphold the law and the Alaska Constitution,” Parnell said Sunday. “Although the district court today may have been bound by the recent Ninth Circuit panel opinion, the status of that opinion and the law in general in this area is in flux. I will defend our constitution,” he added, noting the recent ruling that struck down similar laws in Nevada and Idaho.
Alaska’s constitution had defined marriage as being “only between one man and one woman.”
In a brief to the district court, the state of Alaska had called the right to same-sex marriage “a decision for the citizenry to make through the democratic process, not the judiciary.”
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