North Dakota Officials Seek Dismissal of Gay Marriage Suit

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — State officials are asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit challenging North Dakota's constitutional prohibition on same-sex marriage.

The state attorney general's office filed the motion Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Fargo. North Dakota Solicitor General Doug Bahr argues in court documents that the U.S. Constitution gives states the rights to define and regulate marriage.

Bahr also says the U.S. Constitution doesn't require North Dakota to recognize legal same-sex marriages in other states.

Seven couples filed the federal lawsuit last month, making North Dakota the last state with a ban to be sued by gay couples seeking the right to marry in their home state.

A second lawsuit challenging North Dakota's ban has since been filed in federal court by a Fargo couple.