Ga. Supreme Court rules out same-sex unions

ATLANTA — The Georgia Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, has let stand a Georgia Court of Appeals ruling that a Vermont civil union is not the equivalent of marriage in Georgia.

Additionally, the court ruled July 15 that even if a civil union is deemed to be a “marriage” in Vermont, it would not be recognized as such in Georgia. The decision also upheld the Georgia Defense of Marriage Act, which limits marriage to one man and one woman.

Mathew D. Staver, president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel, a religious liberty law organization, noted, “This now brings to an end the first case in the country to rule that a Vermont civil union is not portable outside Vermont, that a state defense of marriage act may ban same-sex marriage, and that the Federal Defense of Marriage Act does not require one state to recognize out-of-state same-sex unions.”