Laws in 38 states define marriage, but courts fuel battle on issue

Published: 2004-02-24

SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- When Ohio Gov. Bob Taft signed a law Feb. 6 banning same-sex marriages, Ohio became the 38th state to enact legislation defining marriage as between one man and one woman. California joined that list four years ago when voters approved, by a margin of 61 percent to 39 percent, a 14-word initiative that declared: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." The decision to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in San Francisco is the latest volley in a war that has raged for more than a decade. Over that time, the advocates of same-sex marriage have lost battles across the country: in Congress, state legislatures and at the polls. They have won three times in state courts. Voters overturned one of those wins, and another resulted in a law that allows civil unions for same-sex couples but not marriage.

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