Judge upholds true marriage in Puerto Rico, says SCOTUS decision doesn’t apply

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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.

  

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