Jill Disis and Cara Anthony

The Indianapolis Star

INDIANAPOLIS — A federal district judge struck down Indiana's ban on same-sex marriage Wednesday, saying the law violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution.

Judge Richard Young did not issue a stay on his ruling, so couples were able to marry immediately.

"These couples, when gender and sexual orientation are taken away, are in all respects like the family down the street," he wrote. "The Constitution demands that we treat them as such."

Marion County Clerk Beth White in the state's capital city began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in her office downtown, and dozens of gay couples lined up. Clerks in at least five other counties also issued licenses; others decided to hold off.

"Chief Judge Richard Young's decision on marriage equality sets forth a clear course of action for this office to follow regarding same-sex marriage licenses," White said in a news release. "It is my responsibility to uphold court rulings that impact this office and that is what I will do."

She kept her office open until 8 p.m. ET as scores of couples stood in line, issuing 219 marriage licenses. Her office also conducted more than 150 civil ceremonies for a $50 contribution to the Indiana Youth Group, a nonprofit organization in Indianapolis that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning teens.

Craig Bowen and Jake Miller, who met eight year ago, were the first same-sex couple to get their marriage license here and were wed immediately afterward.

"Our parents don't know yet, so they might be a little mad at us," Miller said. "I sent Craig a text and said, 'Hey, do you want to get married today?' "

The Indiana Attorney General's Office appealed Young's ruling to the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago and filed a request in federal court here for an emergency stay to stop same-sex marriages.

Guidance from the attorney general's office, which came late Wednesday, instructed five counties named in lawsuits to comply with Young's order or face contempt of court. It urged the other 87 counties to "show respect for the judge and the orders that are issued."

Gov. Mike Pence, a steadfast advocate of one-man, one-woman marriage, supports the appeal and "Indiana's right to define the institution of marriage for the residents of our state," his spokeswoman Kara Brooks said in a statement.

The state will comply with the federal court's order as the case moves through the appeals process, she said.

President Rick Sutton, 60, of Indiana Equality Action said advocates pushed hard to win gay couples the right to marry in Indiana. He married his partner of 16 years, Robert Owens, 40, soon after Bowen and Miller were wed in Indianapolis because of concerns that an appeals court would overturn Young's ruling.

"That's all we ever wanted was to be treated equal, and that's what this means," Sutton said.

In Denver, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Utah must allow gay couples to marry, the first time an appeals court has made such a ruling. But the three-judge panel immediately put on its decision on hold so it could be appealed, either to the entire 10th Circuit or directly to the Supreme Court. So far, 20 lower-court rulings have struck down bans against same-sex marriage.

Several couples had sued Indiana earlier this year in a case called Baskin, et al. v. Bogan, et al. to challenge the state's ban on gay marriage. In May, Young required the state to indefinitely recognize one same-sex couple's out-of-state marriage.

At that time, Amy Sandler and Niki Quasney, both 37, were the only same-sex couple to have their marriage legally recognized in Indiana.

Sandler and Quasney were married last year in Massachusetts and have been together 13 years. Quasney has terminal ovarian cancer.

Most recently, both sides asked Young to rule on the broader constitutionality of the state law that states marriage is between only a man and a woman.

"The court recognized that there was significant harm to couples when they're wrongly denied the freedom to marry the one unique person they love," said Paul Castillo, the lawyer for Lambda Legal who argued the Baskin v. Bogan case.

Last week, the state fired its salvo in that case, asking a federal appeals court to overturn Young's ruling that temporarily recognized Sandler and Quasney's marriage. Corbin, the attorney general spokesman, said state officials contend Young's May 8 ruling was incorrect.

The biggest question in Indiana right now is whether Young's ruling will be stayed during an appeal, said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond School of Law professor who has been closely monitoring court cases across the U.S. involving the same-sex marriage issue. If Young issues a stay, it likely would come later this week or early next week.

Federal courts in several other states that have struck down gay-marriage bans recently have put their rulings are on hold pending appeal. Lawyers on both sides of the issue expect the matter to land before the Supreme Court, and Utah attorney general said Wednesday that he will ask the high court justices to review the 10th Circuit decision.

A movement to add a gay marriage ban to the Indiana constitution faltered during this legislative session when lawmakers removed language about civil unions from the amendment. That means the soonest the issue could appear on a ballot is 2016, unless federal court rulings scuttle the proposed amendment.

Contributing: Tim Evans and Brian Eason, The Indianapolis Star; The Associated Press