State: About 285 same-sex couples wed in Alaska in past year

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – About 285 same-sex couples have married in Alaska in the year since a federal judge struck down the state’s ban on gay marriage as unconstitutional, according to the state health department.

Monday marked the one-year anniversary of the decision striking down a 1998 voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. Except for a brief period last October, during which the state unsuccessfully petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene, couples have been able to apply for marriage licenses since.

In June this year, following litigation across the country, the U.S. Supreme Court...