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- Same-sex marriage in Kentucky has been legal since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015. The decision, which struck down Kentucky's statutory and constitutional bans on same-sex marriages, was handed down on June 26, 2015, and Governor Steve Beshear and Attorney General Jack Conway announced almost immediately that the court's order would be implemented. On February 12, 2014, Judge John G. Heyburn II of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky ruled that Kentucky must recognize same-sex marriages established in other jurisdictions. On July 1, the same judge ruled that Kentucky's denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples violated the U.S. Constitution, but stayed the implementation of both his decisions pending appeal. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed both those decisions on November 6. The same-sex couples asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review that decision. On January 16, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court consolidated these cases with three others and agreed to review the case as Obergefell v. Hodges. Initially, following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, four Kentucky counties were known to have refused (or announced they would refuse) to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. By June 2016, however, all counties in Kentucky had begun issuing marriage licenses or had announced their intention to do so. (en)
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