Mississippi's Same-Sex Adoption Ban Struck Down

U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan has struck down Mississippi's same-sex adoption ban.

From the ruling:

Obergefell held that bans on gay marriage violate the due-process and equal-protection clauses. It is the equal-protection component of the opinion that is relevant in the present dispute over Mississippi’s ban on gay adoptions.

In sum, the majority opinion foreclosed litigation over laws interfering with the right to marry and “rights and responsibilities intertwined with marriage.”

It also seems highly unlikely that the same court that held a state cannot ban gay marriage because it would deny benefits—expressly including the right to adopt—would then conclude that married gay couples can be denied that very same benefit.

The Executive Director of DHS is hereby preliminarily enjoined from enforcing Mississippi Code section 93-17-3(5).