Judge upholds true marriage in Puerto Rico, says SCOTUS decision doesn’t apply
A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision
legalizing same-sex "marriage" nationwide doesn't apply to Puerto
Rico.
"One might be tempted to assume that the constant reference
made to the 'States' in Obergefell includes the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico," wrote U.S. District Court Judge Juan Pérez-Giménez in a 10-page
decision. "Yet, it is not the role of this court to venture into such an
interpretation."
According to Pérez-Giménez, Puerto Rico's status as an
"unincorporated territory" means that it "is not treated as the
functional equivalent of a State for purposes of the Fourteenth
Amendment."
This is especially true because "'the Constitution applies
in full in incorporated Territories surely destined for statehood but only in
part in unincorporated Territories.'" he wrote.
The full
ruling is
contrary to an opinion by the First Circuit Court of Appeals, which sent
the case back to Pérez-Giménez after the
Supreme Court's Obergefell decision -- with the Circuit
Court noting that it was in agreement with the defendants' and the plaintiffs'
"joint position that the ban is unconstitutional" in light of the
Supreme Court's ruling.
Pérez-Giménez, citing 1901 Supreme Court precedent for his
ruling, outlined four ways for the Obergefell decision to apply to Puerto
Rico. However, ACLU attorney Joshua Block tweeted that a 1976 Supreme Court decision undermined
the partial application argument.
Pérez-Giménez's ruling is the second time he has upheld Puerto
Rico's marriage protection. Lambda Legal, which sued on behalf of plaintiffs,
is likely to appeal the decision back to the Circuit Court.
