Opinions Differ for Domestic Violence Cases and Gay Marriage Ban


COLUMBUS (AP) -- Two Ohio judges have issued differing rulings in the past week on whether the state's constitutional amendment banning gay marriage bars prosecutors from charging unmarried people with domestic violence.

A Franklin County judge on Friday decided against dismissing a domestic violence case, disagreeing with arguments that the law doesn't apply to unmarried couples. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Stuart Friedman said Wednesday that domestic violence charges cannot be filed against unmarried people because of the state's recently enacted definition of marriage.