A Service of UA Little Rock

U.S. Supreme Court Asked To Take Arkansas Birth Certificate Case

Michael Hibblen

Attorneys are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review an Arkansas ruling preventing married same-sex couples from getting the names of both spouses on their children's birth certificates without a court order.

Attorneys for the National Center for Lesbian Rights and two same-sex couples are asking justices to weigh in on a December state Supreme Court ruling. The state court reversed a judge's decision to strike down part of Arkansas' birth certificate law.

The court filing argues that the ruling undermines the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The attorneys say it could invite other states to deny rights to same-sex married couples.

Republican Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's office says she's reviewing the filing but remains confident in the state high court's decision.

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