Ellington

JACKSON — JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal judge has overturned Mississippi's ban on allowing same-sex couples to adopt.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan, in a preliminary injunction issued Thursday, ruled for four couples who had sued, saying the ban is unconstitutional after recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions legalizing gay marriage and benefits for gay couples.

The couples were backed by the Campaign for Southern Equality and the Family Equality Council.

Mississippi lawmakers banned adoptions by same-sex couples in 2000. Then-Gov. Ronnie Musgrove signed the ban but now says he regrets doing so.

The couples say the ban is a discriminatory exception to a framework putting child welfare first. They say gay parents face legal risks because both parents don't have legal status.

Attorney General Jim Hood didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.