Federal court upholds Louisiana's same-sex marriage ban

For the first time since the Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on same-sex marriage, a federal court upheld a state's same-sex marriage ban — in Louisiana.

US District Judge Martin Feldman argued in his decision that the ban doesn't violate rights established in the Constitution's due process and equal protection clauses, which contradicts what  other courts have argued following the Supreme Court's 2013 decision.

"Public attitude might be becoming more diverse, but any right to same-sex marriage is not yet so entrenched as to be fundamental," Feldman wrote. "There is simply no fundamental right, historically or traditionally, to same-sex marriage."

The decision, like others before it, will almost certainly be appealed. LGBT advocates expect the Supreme Court to decide the issue of same-sex marriage within one or two years.

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