Judge Lets Minnesota Gay Marriage Ban Stand

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A Hennepin County judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to make gay marriage legal in Minnesota.

Judge Mary Dufresne rejected arguments by the group Marry Me Minnesota that the state's 13-year-old Defense of Marriage Act violates same-sex couples' rights to due process, equal protection, religious freedom and freedom of association.

The judge wrote in an order Monday that she's bound by a 1971 Minnesota Supreme Court decision that says the Legislature has the power to limit marriage to one man and one woman.

Doug Benson, executive director of Marry Me Minnesota, says the group is disappointed and will appeal. He says the ruling is a slap at thousands of gay and lesbian couples who want the same rights their neighbors have.

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