A federal judge ruled against the state of Ohio's ban on marriage equality, ordering it to recognize all same-sex marriages performed outside of the state. However, the decision does not enact marriage equality in Ohio. Also the decision is stayed pending an appeal.
In a 45-page decision, U.S. District Judge Timothy Black determined the Ohio law barring recognition of out-of-state same-sex weddings violates protections under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
“The record before the court, which includes the judicially-noticed record in Obergefell, is staggeringly devoid of any legitimate justification for the state’s ongoing arbitrary discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and, therefore, Ohio’s marriage recognition bans are facially unconstitutional and unenforceable under any circumstances,” Black writes.
Black’s ruling against the state’s ban on recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages was expected because the court announced at the end of arguments on April 4 that a ruling against the ban would likely happen. However, the ruling doesn’t allow same-sex couples to wed in Ohio.