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NEW ORLEANS—A federal judge in Louisiana has rejected a lawuit challenging the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. Bucking the national trend which has found federal courts in other states questioning the constitutionality of same-sex marriage ban, U.S. District Judge Martin L.C. Feldman found that there was no violation of a equality for gays.

In his 32-page decision, Feldman found that, “Although opinions about same-sex marriage will understandably vary among the states, and other states in free and open debate will and have chosen differently, that does not mandate that Louisiana has overstepped its sovereign authority.” In his decision, Feldman endorsed the state’s argument that democratic rights in approving a state constitutional amendment limiting marriage to one man and one woman did not violate the rights of gay couples. Voters in Louisiana approved an amendment to the state’s constitution in 2004 by 78% majority.

The Feldman decision was the first loss for same-sex advocates since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act last year.

Over the past ten months, state marriage bans in Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia have been overturned by federal appellate courts. All have currently been stayed  pending appeals.

In the Louisiana case, six gay couples who wed outside the state sought official recognition, and one in-state couple sought to marry. The advocacy group Equality Louisiana was also among the plaintiffs.

“The defendants maintain that marriage is a legitimate concern of state law and policy, that it may be rightly regulated because of what for centuries has been understood to be its role,” the judge wrote. “Not so say the plaintiffs,” he continued, “who vigorously submit if two people wish to enter into a bond of commitment and care and have that bond recognized by law as a marriage, they should be free to do so, and their choice should be recognized by law as a marriage; never mind the historic authority of the state or the democratic process. These are earnest and thoughtful disputes, but they may have become society’s latest short fuse.”

Feldman, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan and is considered a staunch conservative, said that to allow gays to marry would put them in a special class of individuals, and no court has bestowed that status on them.

“In light of still-binding precedent, this court declines to fashion a new suspect class. To do so would distort precedent and demean the democratic process,” he wrote. “In light of still-binding precedent, this court declines to fashion a new suspect class. To do so would distort precedent and demean the democratic process,” he wrote.

“We always anticipated that it would be a difficult challenge,” said J. Dalton Courson, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, adding that the ruling would be appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. “We certainly are disappointed, considering the string of rulings in favor of same-sex marriage.”

Opponents of same-sex marriage applauded Feldman’s decision.

“This ruling confirms that the people of Louisiana — not the federal courts — have the constitutional right to decide how marriage is defined in this state,” Gene Mills, president of the Louisiana Family Forum, said in an official statement.

The case, Robicheaux v. Caldwell, was brought by the Forum for Equality, a Louisiana-based gay rights group, and seven same-sex couples either seeking to be married here or seeking to have valid marriages from other states legally recognized in Louisiana.

“We obviously are very disappointed in the ruling,” SarahJane E. Brady, executive director of Forum for Equality, said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “We plan to move forward. Love is love no matter where you live, even in Louisiana. We look forward to continuing the fight and appealing.”

For a complete analysis of the impact of this decision, please see next week’s Agenda newspaper.