Photo by Bill Tiernan | The Virginian-Pilot

Late Thursday night, US District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen ruled that laws prohibiting gay and lesbian couples from marrying in Virginia are unconstitutional. Read more about the decision here>

Front Page News:

1. The Virginian-Pilot

2. The Washington Post

3. Virginia Daily Press

From the Headlines:

Federal Judge Overturns Virginia’s Gay Marriage Ban
The New York Times 

The challenge to Virginia’s ban was argued by the same bipartisan team of legal stars, Theodore B. Olson and David Boies, that successfully contested California’s ban in 2010. They argued the case on behalf of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, a private national group. More>

Federal judge strikes down Virginia’s ban on gay marriage
Reuters 

The American Foundation for Equal Rights, which brought the Virginia case, said Allen’s ruling upheld core U.S. principles of equality. More>

Virginia’s Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional by Judge
Bloomberg

The Norfolk case has assumed a high profile partly because attorneys for the plaintiffs included Theodore Olson and David Boies, adversaries in the contested 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. More>

Virginia judge strikes down gay marriage ban
USA Today 

Olson, Boies and state Solicitor General Stuart Raphael joined forces at the hearing in Wright Allen’s court. More>

Court strikes down Va. gay marriage ban
The Hill 

Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin also framed the ruling as another step forward. “Yet another court has upheld the fundamental idea that gay and lesbian Americans are entitled to full equality under the law,” he said in a statement. More>

Judge deems Virginia’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional
CNN 

“These laws deny Plaintiffs their rights to due process and equal protection guaranteed under the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution,” U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen wrote in her opinion. More>

Norfolk couple thanks court for same-sex marriage ruling
WAVY TV