Kent. gov. says same-sex marriage ban OK because it applies to straight people too

Indiana, Arkansas, now Kentucky.
Republican intolerance toward gays has gone from the controversial to the absurd.

The Louisville Courier Journal is reporting that Kentucky Republican Gov. Steve Beshear's legal team claims the state's ban on same-sex marriage isn't discriminatory because it applies to straight people, too.
"Kentucky’s marriage laws treat homosexuals and heterosexuals the same and are facially neutral. Men and women, whether heterosexual or homosexual, are free to marry persons of the opposite sex under Kentucky law, and men and women, whether heterosexual or homosexual, cannot marry persons of the same sex under Kentucky law," Beshear said in a brief filed with the Supreme Court on March 27.
In the brief, Beshear also argues "there is no fundamental right to same-sex marriage."

The Courier-Journal reports Dan Canon, the attorney representing six couples challenging Kentucky's gay marriage ban, called Beshear's argument "especially absurd."

"Kentucky is in essence saying that our clients are precluded from marriage entirely, unless they change their sexual orientation (or simply marry someone to whom they are not attracted)," Canon told the Courier-Journal in an email. "It's akin to passing a law banning all Catholic churches within city limits, and then saying it's not discriminatory because you can still go to a Baptist church."

The argument stems from the big Supreme Court case that includes Michigan's same-sex marriage ban. The justices will hear oral arguments on April 28 on states' rights to ban same-sex marriage, with arguments being presented by Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee. The high court will issue a ruling in the summer.