Minnesota Trial Court Upholds State's Ban on Same-Sex Marriage

On Monday, a Hennepin County, Minnesota state court judge rejected a constitutional challenge to Minnesota's law that bars same-sex marriage. Tuesday's Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the trial court relied on a 1971 Minnesota Supreme Court decision-- Baker v. Nelson -- which rejected a similar challenge, and also relied on Minnesota's Defense of Marriage Act. The case decided this week was brought by three same-sex couples who had been denied marriage licenses. It claimed that denial of marriage to same-sex couples violated their due process, equal protection, religious freedom and free association rights.