Impeach Judge Who Ordered Ohio to Recognize Gay Marriages, Says Local Lawmaker
An Ohio lawmaker wants to impeach the federal judge who declared the state must recognize the same-sex marriage of a terminally ill gay man and his husband, claiming the judge's ruling violated "state sovereignty."
State Rep. John Becker, a Republican who represents Union Township, penned a letter to one of Ohio's representatives in the U.S. House asking the fellow republican to initiate impeachment proceedings against Judge Timothy Black.
Black is a federal district judge who, in July, ruled that Ohio must recognize the marriage of John Arthur and Tim Obergefell, who flew to Maryland to marry earlier in July because Arthur is terminally ill with ALS. The newlywed couple sued the state of Ohio in an effort to require the state coroner to list Arthur as married on his death certificate, and list Obergefell as Arthur's surviving spouse. On July 22, Judge Black used no uncertain terms in finding in the couple's favor, writing that "this is not a complicated case," and ordering the Ohio registrar — and by extension, the state itself — to recognize the legal marriage between Arthur and Obergefell.
Ohio voters amended their state constitution to forbid marriage equality in 2004, though Black's ruling in the Arthur-Obergefell case determined that the state law "likely violate[s] the U.S. Constitution… by treating lawful same-sex marriages differently than it treats opposite-sex marriages."
http://www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2013/09/23/impeach-judge-who-ordered-ohio-recognize-gay-marriages-says
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