CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A judge is giving the clerk of West Virginia’s biggest county 60 more days to answer a lawsuit over the state’s ban on same-sex marriages.
U.S. District Judge Robert Chambers ruled Wednesday that Kanawha County Clerk Vera McCormick can wait until West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey decides whether to intervene in the lawsuit.
Chambers says the clerk has five days to respond after Morrisey intervenes, or after his time to do so expires – whichever comes first.
New York-based gay rights group Lambda Legal contends West Virginia’s Defense of Marriage Act violates the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
It’s filed a similar lawsuit challenging Virginia’s gay marriage ban.
Chambers said his ruling also applies to Cabell County Clerk Karen Cole. She, too, was named a defendant.
