HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Lambda Legal on Tuesday filed a motion for summary judgment asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia to rule swiftly in a case brought by three same-sex couples seeking the freedom to marry.

In the lawsuit, filed Oct. 1, 2013, Lambda Legal argues that West Virginia’s marriage ban unfairly discriminates against same-sex couples and their children and sends a purposeful message that gay couples and their children are undeserving of the legal sanction, respect, protections, and support that opposite-sex couples and their families are able to enjoy through marriage.

“Since we filed our lawsuit in October, same-sex couples in four more states have secured the ability to marry,” said Beth Littrell, a Senior Attorney in Lambda Legal’s Southern Regional Office. “We do not want a country divided by unfairness and discrimination. Same-sex couples are in loving, committed relationships in every state and should be treated the same way.”

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“When same-sex couples in West Virginia are denied the freedom to marry, the government sends a message that they are second class citizens and their families are not worthy of equal dignity and respect,” said Littrell.

Plaintiffs is the case are: Nancy Michael, 45, and Jane Fenton, 43, together for 16 years, and their six-year-old son, Drew; Casie McGee, 30, and Sarah Adkins 32, together for more than three years; and Justin Murdock, 32, and William Glavaris, 31, together for more than two years.