弗吉尼亚州同性恋婚姻禁令被推翻A US federal judge in Virginia has ruled that the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.美国弗吉尼亚州一位联邦法官做出裁决，该州禁止同性婚姻的做法是违反宪法的。 It is the first time that a southern state has had a voter-approved prohibition on gay marriage overturned. The ruling will not apply pending a possible appeal. Same-sex marriages are legal in 17 US states, most of them in the north-east, and Washington DC. Such unions have been approved either through legislation, court rulings or voter referendums. 'Adding momentum' The ruling by Judge Arenda Wright Allen in Norfolk followed a legal challenge on same-sex marriage by a gay couple. The judge agreed with them that the ban infringes on（侵害） their constitutional rights and their fundamental freedom to marry. Many expect the case - or one like it - to go all the way to the US Supreme Court, the BBC's Beth McLeod in Washington reports. Virginia is the first state in the old confederacy（联盟） - a group of southern states that are traditionally seen as socially conservative - to have its ban overturned. The decision adds momentum to a growing acceptance of gay marriage in the US, our correspondent adds. Earlier this week, a federal judge in Kentucky - another southern state - ruled that it must recognise same-sex marriages performed elsewhere in the US. However, the judge did not rule on the legality of same-sex marriages inside Kentucky, effectively meaning that the current ban remained in place.
