Case 2:13-cv-00395-AWA-LRL Document 135 Filed 02/13/14 Page 38 of 41 PageID# 1080
3.
Plaintiffs are entitled to relief under Section 1983
To state a claim for relief in an action brought under Section 1983, Plaintiffs must
establish that they were deprived of a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States, and that the alleged deprivation was committed under color of state law. Am. Mfrs. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Sullivan, 526 U.S. 40, 49-50 (1999). The Proponents declined to challenge Plaintiffs' Section 1983 claims. The validity of these claims warrant brief review.
"The ultimate issue in determining whether a person is subject to suit under [Section] 1983 is the same question posed in cases arising under the Fourteenth Amendment: is the alleged
infringement of federal rights 'fairly attributable to the State?'" Rendell-Baker v. Kohn, 457 U.S. 830, 838 (1982) (quoting Lugar v. Edmondson Oil Co., 457 U.S. 922 (1982)). Plaintiffs allege that Virginia's Marriage Laws, and their enforcement by the state officials who are named defendants, violate their rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Because Virginia's Marriage Laws are herein struck as unconstitutional, and there is sufficient state action to permit relief under the Federal Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses, Plaintiffs' Section 1983 claims are well-taken. IV.
CONCLUSION
Each of the parties before the Court recognizes that marriage is a sacred social institution. The commitment two individuals enter into to love, support each other, and to possibly choose to nurture children enriches our society. Although steeped in a rich, tradition- and faith-based
legacy, Virginia's Marriage Laws are an exercise of governmental power. For those who choose to marry, and for their children, Virginia's laws ensures that marriage provides profound legal, financial, and social benefits, and exacts serious legal, financial, and social obligations. The
government's involvement in defining marriage, and in attaching benefits that accompany the
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