FILE -- This Oct. 10, 2014, file photo shows Matthew Hamby, left, and his husband, Christopher Shelden, speaking during a news conference in Anchorage, Alaska. The couple were among five that challenged Alaska's ban on same-sex marriages, which was struck down Oct. 12, 2014. The state health department on Monday, Oct. 12, 2015, said nearly 285 same-sex couples have married in Alaska in the last year, a fraction of the 5,589 total marriages in Alaska in the last year. Hamby said during that time, "mundane tasks," such as filing a house deed, have gotten a bit easier. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

FILE -- This Oct. 10, 2014, file photo shows Matthew Hamby, left, and his husband, Christopher Shelden, speaking during a news conference in Anchorage, Alaska. The couple were among five that challenged Alaska's ban on same-sex marriages, which was struck down Oct. 12, 2014. The state health department on Monday, Oct. 12, 2015, said nearly 285 same-sex couples have married in Alaska in the last year, a fraction of the 5,589 total marriages in Alaska in the last year. Hamby said during that time, "mundane tasks," such as filing a house deed, have gotten a bit easier. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

State: About 285 same-sex couples wed in Alaska in past year

  • By Becky Bohrer
  • Monday, October 12, 2015 11:12pm
  • News

JUNEAU — About 285 same-sex couples have married in Alaska in the year since a federal judge struck down the state’s ban on gay marriage as unconstitutional, according to the state health department.

Monday marked the one-year anniversary of the decision striking down a 1998 voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. Except for a brief period last October, during which the state unsuccessfully petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene, couples have been able to apply for marriage licenses since.

In June this year, following litigation across the country, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples nationwide have the right to marry.

Since Oct. 12, 2014, 5,589 total marriages have been registered in Alaska, including 284 same-sex marriages, the department said Monday in response to queries from The Associated Press. Registered marriages refer to couples who have married and turned in completed marriage licenses.

Matthew Hamby, a plaintiff in the Alaska case, called it gratifying “to have played a small role in standing up and saying, We want to be treated equally, just like our straight counterparts.” Hamby and his husband, Christopher Shelden, were among five couples who sued last year, challenging the constitutionality of Alaska’s ban on same-sex marriage. Four of the five couples, including Hamby and Shelden, had been married outside the state. The fifth couple was unmarried at the time.

U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Burgess, in striking down the ban, said refusing the rights and responsibilities afforded by legal marriage “sends the public a government-sponsored message that same-sex couples and their familial relationships do not warrant the status, benefits, and dignity given to couples of the opposite sex.” He found the gay-marriage ban violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution.

When the lawsuit was filed, in May 2014, it was unclear how long it would take for the issue to be sorted out nationally, said Allison Mendel, an attorney for the couples. It was important to not wait for a decision to “trickle down” to Alaska, she said, “because it would have taken until this past summer to trickle down if we hadn’t done something.”

Caitlin Shortell, another attorney for the couples, called it “the honor of my life” to have helped bring the case. She said she remains committed to issues of equality, including working to ensure that people are not discriminated against based on sexual orientation or gender identity, which she sees as a continued fight on the state level.

Hamby said that in the past year, “mundane tasks,” such as filing a house deed, have gotten a bit easier.

“And I think just chatting with other people here and in different places, it just seems like there’s less of a distinction between same-gender marriage and straight marriage. People just refer to it as marriage, refer to their significant others that they’re married to as their spouses,” Hamby said.

More in News

A towering Lutz spruce, center, in the Chugach National Forest is about to be hoisted by a crane Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, for transport to the West Lawn of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to be the 2015 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service)
Tongass National Forest selected to provide 2024 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree

Eight to 10 candidate trees will be evaluated, with winner taking “whistlestop tour” to D.C.

A slash pile containing non-organic construction debris is seen at the Snug Harbor Slash Disposal site on Sept. 22, 2020, in Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Kenai Peninsula Borough Land Management)
Assembly OKs concrete lease in Cooper Landing

The vote came amid widespread community opposition to the agreement

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
Children hunt for Easter eggs during the Easter Eggstravaganza at Nikiski Community Recreation Center on Saturday.
Easter eggs, bunnies arrive on the Kenai Peninsula

There are plenty of opportunities to grab a photo with the Easter bunny or seek out some eggs

Flier for Bear Awareness and Electric Fencing Workshops. (Provided by Defenders of Wildlife)
Local workshops to focus on managing bear attractants, electric fencing

The series will run Monday through Friday, April 1-5, in Hope, Seward, Kenai, Soldotna and Homer

A person walks up the steps of the Alaska Capitol, Jan. 16, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)
Some KPBSD schools could benefit from internet bill passed by House

If House Bill 193 becomes law, an additional six KPBSD schools would be eligible for the state’s grant program

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
A veterinarian with Greater Good Charities escorts dog Maggie into a free spay/neuter clinic at the Moose Pass Fire Station on Thursday.
Moose Pass rallies behind free spay and neuter clinic

The clinic was put on by Greater Good Charities Good Fix program

Signage marks the entrance to Nikiski Middle/High School on Monday, May 16, 2022, in Nikiski, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski student arrested after school shooting threats

The juvenile student faces charges of terroristic threatening

Armageddon waits to be shown at the Kenai Peninsula District 4-H Agriculture Expo on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Bjorkman farm tax relief bill clears Senate

The bill is now up for consideration in the House

Most Read