JOHN RABY
Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s attorney general says his office will no longer defend the state’s ban on same-sex marriages, potentially clearing the way for gay couples to wed.

Patrick Morrisey issued a statement Thursday that his office would no longer fight a court challenge to the state’s ban. He says his office “will respect” the recent U.S. Supreme Court declining to review a lower-court ruling in July striking down Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriages. But Morrisey says he still doesn’t agree with the stance.

U.S. District Judge Robert Chambers in Huntington had previously put West Virginia’s case on hold. On Tuesday, Chamber ordered the state and clerks in two counties to respond to a motion by Oct. 21.

The motion filed by attorneys for three same-sex couples asked Chambers to grant their motion for summary judgment based on the outcome of the case in Virginia.

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