Government and Politics

Idaho's Gay Rights Shift

As gay Idahoans entered 2015 with the legal right to marry they also brace for that right to be undermined at the nation's highest court. Meanwhile LGBTQ people sought the Idaho legislature's protection from discrimination. The so-called "add the words" movement did not win at the state level, but a larger legal victory sealed the right for all Idahoans--and all Americans--to marry in 2015. LGBTQ people and their supporters prepared to capitalize on that victory in Idaho in 2016.

Gay Marriage To Remain Legal In Idaho After Supreme Court Ruling

NWNews

Published June 26, 2015 at 8:41 AM PDT

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex couples have the constitutional right to marry in every state.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this morning that same-sex couples have the constitutional right to marry in every state.

Gay marriage is already legal in Oregon, Washington -- and in Idaho. But the ruling still has repercussions in Idaho.

This decision brings the legal efforts of the Idaho governor and the attorney general to an end. They’ve been trying to reinstate Idaho’s voter-passed ban on same-sex marriage ever since a federal court declared it unconstitutional. The governor vowed to continue that fight even after gay marriages began last October.

This Supreme Court ruling this morning doesn’t directly address Idaho, but it does answer the same question, and the justices say states cannot deny same-sex couples the right to marry.