(AP) – Arkansas’ highest court has thrown out a judge’s
ruling that could have allowed married same-sex couples to get the names of both
spouses on their children’s birth certificates without a court order.
A split Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Pulaski County Circuit
Court Judge Tim Fox went too far when he found the birth certificate law
unconstitutional last year.
Justices sided with the state, which said Arkansas has a vested interest in
listing biological parents on birth certificates. The court said it doesn’t
violate equal protection “to acknowledge basic biological truths.”
In a dissent, Justice Paul Danielson wrote that listing a parent’s name on a
birth certificate is a benefit associated with marriage that should be extended
to same-sex couples under the U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage.
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