4 couples sue Idaho over same-sex marriage ban

Four Idaho couples are suing the state in federal court to challenge laws banning same-sex marriage and denying recognition to same-sex couples who married in other states.

Sue Latta and Traci Ehlers, Lori and Sharene Watsen, Shelia Robertson and Andrea Altmayer, and Amber Beierle and Rachael Robertson filed the lawsuit in Boise’s U.S. District Court on Friday, bringing the first challenge to Idaho’s constitutional ban of same-sex marriage since the U.S. Supreme Court made two key rulings bolstering the legal status of such marriages earlier this year.

The women, who are represented by two local attorneys and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, contend that Idaho’s laws violate the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and due process.

The state has not yet responded to the lawsuit.