Alaska has spent more than $100,000 so far defending a lawsuit against the state’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples, according to Department of Law figures obtained by the Alaska Dispatch News.
The state has spent $92,621.43 on attorneys and paralegal costs to defend Hamby v. Parnell, a lawsuit challenging Alaska’s marriage ban. U.S. District Judge Timothy Burgess ruled against the ban in October.
The state also spent $9,600 for outside counsel and $1,000 for other costs, the Alaska Dispatch News reported.
It’s estimated about 74 same-sex couples have been married in Alaska since the marriage ban was struck down on Oct. 12, or about one-fifth of all marriages performed in the state in that period. The cost to defend the ban amounts to almost $1,400 per couple.
The plaintiffs in the case also asked for $258,938.40, which if awarded, would increase the cost to the state to more than $360,000.
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