Judge permanently blocks Louisiana law requiring birth certificates for marriage

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A federal judge has permanently blocked enforcement of a Louisiana law that prevented foreign-born U.S. citizens from getting married if they couldn't produce a birth certificate.

U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle's ruling Tuesday resolves a lawsuit that Lafayette resident Viet Anh Vo filed last year after he and his U.S.-born fiancee had their application for a marriage license rejected two weeks before their wedding.

The permanent injunction benefits anyone whom the 2016 law prevented from obtaining a marriage license.

The judge initially blocked enforcement of the statute in March. In June, lawmakers passed legislation allowing marriage license applicants to get a judicial waiver if they couldn't produce the required documentation. However, the judge said the new law preserved other unconstitutional requirements that only apply to foreign-born citizens.

http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/courts/article_17cb2db8-7d21-11e7-98b3-b381cb870955.html