Judge strikes down Texas' gay-marriage ban

A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday struck down the state's ban on gay marriage, though he stayed any action pending a certain appeal.

"Without a rational relation to a legitimate governmental purpose, state-imposed inequality can find no refuge in our U.S. Constitution," U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia wrote.

Garcia is the the latest judge to rule against all or part of a state-level marriage equality ban since the Supreme Court last year delivered its two landmark rulings in favor of same-sex marriage. Judges in Utah, Virginia, New Jersey, and Oklahoma have struck down gay marriage bans in those states, while courts in Ohio and Kentucky have relaxed laws that discriminate against same-sex couples.

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