Alaska judge allows tax exemption for same-sex couples

[JURIST] Alaska Superior Court Judge Frank Pfiffner on Friday ruled it unconstitutional [opinion, PDF] for Alaska to deny same-sex couples the senior citizen and disabled veteran property tax exemptions given to married couples. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Alaska [advocacy websites] challenged [complaint, PDF] the state’s tax exemption law on behalf of three same-sex couples in Anchorage who were denied tax benefits [AP report] for lacking marital status. The complaint alleged that Alaska’s Constitution forbids…