From: AlaskaDan Date: Sat, 28 Feb 1998 13:29:38 EST Subject: Alaska Ruling An Alaskan Superior Court judge ruled Friday against Alaska's ban on same-sex marriages, ordering the state to show why it should be able to regulate who people marry. The ruling does not legalize same-sex unions in Alaska, but forces the state to prove a compelling reason why such unions should be illegal. Superior Court Judge Peter Michalski said choosing a partner is a fundamental right and the state Constitution protects both the ``traditional choice and the nontraditional choice.'' An Anchorage gay couple of almost 20 years, Jay Brause & Gene Dugan, filed suit against the ban passed by the legislature in 1996. A portion of Judge Michalski's ruling included the following: "The Court finds that marriange, that is the recognition of ones choice of a life- partner, is a fundamental right (under Alaska's Constitution). The State must therefore have a compelling interest that supports its decision to refuse to recognize the exercise of the fundamental right by those who choose same-sex partners rather than opposite-sex partners. Parties are directed to set necessary further hearings to determine whether compelling State interest can be shown for the ban on same-sex marriage found in the Alaska Marriage Code."