A federal judge ruled Monday that portions of the Kansas Constitution which prohibit same-sex marriage are unconstitutional. Attorney Mark Johnson, who represents several gay couples in the case, says the decision also applies to any state law, policy or practice which fails to recognize such unions. "Any laws that say you can't have joint tax filings by same sex couples or you can't change the name on your driver's license. Anything of that nature is also unconstitutional." Johnson said. U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree’s ruling stopped short of issuing a permanent injunction, giving the state an opportunity to voluntarily comply with the ruling. State attorneys have assured the court they will comply. Johnson says his office will be closely monitoring the state’s actions to assure that it adheres to the court's ruling. "We're going to be watching things very carefully and if we think the state is not fully and voluntarily complying, then we'll pursue it." Johnson said. The judge said some facts in the court record suggest Kansas officials have not uniformly complied with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
