A U.S. district judge in New Orleans on Wednesday decided to buck the trend and stick it to same-sex couples.

Using reasoning and rhetoric from the bad old days of — well, not that long ago, really — Judge Martin Feldman ruled that Louisiana had an interest to confine marital vows to opposite-sex couples.

As NPR legal reporter Nina Totenberg noted, Feldman seemed to be aware that his thinking stands in contrast to great cultural change:

In upholding Louisiana’s ban, Judge Martin Feldman noted that same-sex marriage was “inconceivable until very recently,” and, though legal in 19 states, he said it is “not yet so entrenched” as to be a fundamental right recognized by the Constitution. Louisiana, he said, has a “legitimate interest … in linking children to an intact family formed by their two biological parents.” If states must permit same-sex marriage, the judge asked, would they also have to permit marriage between two members of the same family, or marriage between more than two people?

Beyond treating gay people like criminals and perverts, Feldman’s ruling lends further confusion to the status of same-sex relationships. A couple married legally in one part of the country now does not have certain rights in Louisiana. At some point, the Supreme Court will probably have to revisit the issue.

By the way, this is the city where Feldman works:

— Posted by Peter Z. Scheer