CINCINNATI — A federal judge Monday ordered Ohio authorities to recognize gay marriages on death certificates, saying that the state’s ban on such unions is unconstitutional and that states cannot discriminate against same-sex couples simply because some voters don’t like homosexuality.
Although Judge Timothy Black’s ruling applies only to death certificates, his statements about Ohio’s gay-marriage ban are sweeping and unequivocal and are expected to incite further litigation challenging the law. Ohio’s attorney general said the state will appeal.
Black cited the Supreme Court’s June decision striking down part of a federal anti-gay marriage law, saying that the lower courts are now tasked with applying that ruling. Black wrote that ‘‘once you get married lawfully in one state, another state cannot summarily take your marriage away,’’ saying the right to remain married is recognized as a fundamental liberty in the Constitution.