Group Argues Gay Marriage In Oklahoma Would Hurt Children

An organization representing Tulsa County Court Clerk Sally Howe Smith says a Tulsa federal judge was wrong to overturn the state's voter-approved ban on gay marriages.

Sharon Baldwin and Mary Bishop of Tulsa sued Smith after her office refused to issue them a marriage license.

On January 14, 2014, federal judge Terence Kern ruled in their favor, saying the "Oklahoma Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment."

In an appeal filed late Monday, the Alliance Defending Freedom cited previous rulings and anthropologists in arguing children are better off in a home with a mother and a father. The group also said Baldwin and Bishop had no fundamental right to marry.

1/14/2014 Related Story: Federal Judge In Tulsa Rules Oklahoma Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional

But the state's appeal says that if Kern's ruling stands, it would send the message that marriage exists "to advance adult desires" rather than putting children's needs first.

The next step in the process is a hearing before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver on April 17, 2014.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.