Montana Attorney General Asks Lawsuit Filed By Seven Same Sex Couples Seeking Equality Be Dismissed

Montana’s Attorney General Steve Bullock has requested that a lawsuit filed by seven same sex couples seeking to challenge the state’s definition of marriage as that only existing between a man and a woman because that definition denies same sex couples the same rights as opposite sex couples in making decisions regarding their family’s health care and financial matters, according to an Associated Press report. The court, argued Bullock, does not hold jurisdiction in the area requiring the state to extend spousal benefits beyond that definition, adding that the “Courts may not exercise the power to enact laws and revise, alter or amend the constitution,” and that the power to create policy belongs to the Legislature and to the people of the state. District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock set January 25th, 2011 as the date to hear arguments for and against the motion to dismiss. However, the American Civil Liberties Union, which has brought the suit on behalf of the couples, says they are not challenging a 2004 initiative that amended the state constitution’s definition of marriage, but argue that Montana is violating other parts of the constitution, specifically the right to equal protection, privacy, and dignity – by denying gay couples in committed relationships the identical protections enjoyed by married couples. The ACLU is asking Judge Sherlock to impose an injunction that will require Montana to give gay couples the legal status and the statutory framework that gives them those protections, including the right to file a joint tax return and inheritance rights. A trial date has yet to be set.