Same-sex marriage has been legal in Louisiana since the U. Supreme Court 's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, The court held that the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples is unconstitutional, invalidating Louisiana's ban on same-sex marriage.
The ruling clarified conflicting court rulings on whether state officials are obligated to license same-sex marriages. Jindal then said the state would not comply with the ruling until the U. All parishes now issue marriage licenses in accordance with federal law. In and , the Louisiana State Legislature added provisions to the Civil Code that prohibited same-sex couples from marrying and prohibited the recognition of same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions.
The measure banned any other legal status "identical or substantially similar to that of marriage". In July , a state trial court dismissed a lawsuit , In Re Costanza and Brewer , brought by a lesbian couple who had married in California and sought to have their marriage recognized in order to allow Constanza to adopt Brewer's biological child.
The plaintiffs appealed that dismissal because they were not allowed to amend their complaint, [ 5 ] and on February 5, , 15th Judicial District Court Judge Edward Rubin ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and authorized the adoption in a separate action. Costanza and Brewer merged their suit that challenged Louisiana's same-sex marriage ban and their adoption case into one action. They were represented by private counsel, Lafayette attorney Joshua S. Guillory, [ 8 ] and professor of law Paul Baier.
The ruling only applied to the state's 15th Judicial District, comprising the parishes of Lafayette , Acadia and Vermilion. State officials asked Rubin to stay his decision and announced plans to appeal directly to the Louisiana Supreme Court. He also enjoined the state from enforcing laws that "prohibit a person from marrying a person of the same sex". Caldwell on January 29, On July 7, , following the U.
