Sunday 5 January 2014

Man on hunger strike in protest against Utah gay marriage ban.


Seth Anderson (left)  and Michael Ferguson (right) hold up their marriage certificate and license outside of the Salt Lake County Clerk's Office in Salt Lake City Friday, Dec. 20, 2013.  A federal judge struck down Utah's same-sex marriage ban Friday in a decision that marks a drastic shift toward gay marriage in a conservative state where the Mormon church has long been against it
A man has gone on hunger strike in protest against his home state's decision to allow gay marriages.
Trestin Meacham, a 35-year-old man from Utah is protesting after a District Court ruled the state's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional.
He vowed to eat nothing until the decision is overturned, saying his hunger strike will end "when this stops or I am dead."
In the 14 days he's been on hunger strike, Meacham has lost 25lbs after consuming nothing but water and the occasional vitamin pill.
Meacham is calling for the state to invoke a little known, seldom used 'nullification' rule, which he argues would allow Utah's lawmakers to simply ignore the decision of the court.
But legal experts said the state can't nullify the ruling, and the state's appeal court has refused to halt gay weddings while the state appeals the decision.
Meacham is documenting his hunger strike on Twitter, and while he says he's still going strong, he admitted on New Year's Day: "I miss Mexican food."


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