"Refusing the rights and responsibilities afforded by legal marriage sends the public a government-sponsored message that same-sex couples...do not warrant the status, benefits and dignity given to couples of the opposite sex."

...said U.S. District Judge Timothy Burgess yesterday in his opinion striking down Alaska's same-sex marriage ban as a violation of equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Gov. Sean Parnell (R) confirmed to the AP that he intends to waste state money by appealing, even though the 9th Circuit, of which Alaska is a part, has already told Idaho and Nevada that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional.