Federal judge strikes down Guam’s gay marriage ban

FILE - This April 8, 2015 file photo Loretta M. Pangelinan, 28, right, holds the application for a marriage license that she and her fiancee, Kathleen M. Aguero, 28, will turn in at the Office of Vital Statistics in the Guam Department of Public Health and Social Services. A federal judge in Guam is scheduled to hear arguments Friday, June 5, 2015 in a lawsuit challenging the U.S. territory's same-sex marriage ban. If Guam allows gay marriage, it would be the first U.S. territory to do so. Pangelinan and Aguero filed the lawsuit in April after the women were denied a marriage license. (AP Photo/Grace O. Garces Bordallo, File) FILE - This April 8, 2015 file photo Loretta M. Pangelinan, 28, right, holds the application for a marriage license that she and her fiancee, Kathleen M. Aguero, 28, will turn in at the Office of Vital Statistics in the Guam Department of Public Health and Social Services. A federal judge in Guam is scheduled to hear arguments Friday, June 5, 2015 in a lawsuit challenging the U.S. territory's same-sex marriage ban. If Guam allows gay marriage, it would be the first U.S. territory to do so. Pangelinan and Aguero filed the lawsuit in April after the women were denied a marriage license. (AP Photo/Grace O. Garces Bordallo, File)

By Associated Press June 5, 2015 2 min read

HAGATNA, Guam (AP) – Guam has become the first U.S. territory to recognize gay marriage after a federal judge struck down the prohibition.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood issued the decision after a hearing Friday morning local time. It goes into effect at 8 a.m. Tuesday, when gay couples can begin applying for marriage licenses, the Pacific Daily News reported.

Attorneys representing the government of Guam said in a May 18 court document that “should a court strike current Guam law, they would respect and follow such a decision.”

Loretta M. Pangelinan and Kathleen M. Aguero filed the lawsuit in April after the 28-year-old women were denied a marriage license.

They based their lawsuit on a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision last year in favor of same-sex marriage. The U.S. District Court of Guam falls under the 9th Circuit.