US: Idaho governor claims same-sex weddings ‘increase crime’
Idaho’s Governor has launched a court appeal to try and re-ban same-sex marriage, three months after weddings started.
Idaho’s constitutional same-sex marriage ban was struck down in October by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, bringing marriage equality to the state.
However, three months after that ruling, Governor Butch Otter has appealed for a review, asking the court to halt the weddings.
Hundreds of couples have already married in Idaho, meaning that the Governor is directly fighting to re-instate a ban that would void all recognition of their existing unions.
His attorney wrote in a court petition that same-sex marriage harms children, leading to an “increased risk of crime, emotional and psychological difficulties, poor performance in school and other ills”.
The brief continues: “The time has come for this court to resolve a question of critical importance to the states, their citizens and especially their children: Whether the federal Constitution prohibits a state from maintaining the traditional understanding and definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.”
“It is important that at least one of the cases this court considers on the merits be a case in which the traditional definition of marriage has been defended with the most robust defense available. This is that case.”
Mr Otter’s attempt to continue the fight against equal marriage comes after racking up a legal bill of half a million dollars so far – and despite the fact that not a single judge has ever found in his favour on the issue.
