Georgia seeks dismissal of lawsuit against same-sex marriage ban; voters OK'd measure in 2004
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Georgia's attorney general is asking a judge to dismiss a federal lawsuit filed by a gay rights group challenging the state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriages.
Attorney General Sam Olens said in a filing on Monday that the suit takes away Georgia residents' right to define marriage. Lambda Legal sued in April on behalf of seven people.
Georgia voters in 2004 overwhelmingly approved a constitutional ban on gay marriage. It was challenged in courts over wording of the ballot question, but the state Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that the vote was valid.
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The state constitution prohibits same-sex marriage and those performed in other states aren't legally recognized in Georgia.
Same-sex marriage is legal in 19 states and the District of Columbia.