According to the judge's decision, Kentucky would have to recognize this New Jersey couple's marriage.
A federal judge has overturned part of Kentucky's ban on same-sex marriages. The lawsuit did not ask for the state to be required to allow full marriage equality and District Judge John G. Heyburn II didn't rule, but he did invalidate
the state's ban on recognizing marriages performed in other states:
Ruling in a suit brought by four gay and lesbian couples, Heyburn said that while “religious beliefs ... are vital to the fabric of society ... assigning a religious or traditional rationale for a law does not make it constitutional when that law discriminates against a class of people without other reasons.”
Heyburn said “it is clear that Kentucky’s laws treat gay and lesbian persons differently in a way that demeans them.”
He rejected anti-equality claims that procreation is a fundamental part of marriage and that the state has to protect traditional marriage because of tradition.