Utah's ban on same-sex marriage has been ruled as unconstitutional by a federal judge.
Judge Robert J. Shelby of Federal District Court for the District of Utah said in his 53-page ruling that legislation from Salt Lake City first passed nine years ago threatened LGBT citizens' rights to due process and equal protection under the 14th Amendment, which safeguards the right to life, liberty and property.
According to the Associated Press, Judge Shelby stated that Utah hadn't demonstrated in court that letting same-sex couples get legally married would change opposite-sex marriages in any fashion. Shelby added that the state's fears and speculations concerning homosexuality were unfounded, and not proper justification for striking down gay marriage.
Utah lawyers first testified that the law barring same-sex unions protected "responsible procreation" and the "optimal mode of child-rearing."
Three gay and lesbian couples living in the state first brought the lawsuit forward.
Utah is the home of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has made it one of the front-runners against gay marriage.
Friday's decision came just one day after a State Supreme Court unanimously voted for the rights of LGBT partners in New Mexico to marry, on grounds that the "protections and responsibilities that result from the marital relationship shall apply equally" to gay couples and opposite-sex partners.
