Suit aims to strike down Ohio's gay-marriage ban

CINCINNATI (AP) — Civil-rights attorneys have filed a lawsuit seeking to strike down Ohio’s gay-marriage ban and allow same-sex couples to marry in the state.

The lawsuit was filed today in federal court in Cincinnati on behalf of six gay Ohio couples who say they’re in love and want to get married.

Attorney General Mike DeWine has said he will continue to defend the ban, passed overwhelmingly by Ohio voters in 2004.

The same law firm that filed today’s lawsuit filed a February lawsuit that led a judge to order Ohio to recognize out-of-state same sex marriages.

That April 14 order stopped short of forcing Ohio to allow gay couples to wed in the state.

The order is on hold pending DeWine’s forthcoming appeal.