The state denies its laws on marriage curb the constitutional rights of five same-sex couples suing over Alaska’s gay marriage ban.
The couples, four married outside Alaska and one unmarried couple, sued in federal court seeking to overturn the ban.
In a filing Thursday, there is a claim-by-claim response to the plaintiffs.
State attorneys say voters had a “fundamental right to decide the important public policy issue of whether to alter the traditional definition” of marriage.
They say Alaska isn’t required to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states and that, as a sovereign state, Alaska has the right to define and regulate marriage.
