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Maryland Couple Fights Citizenship Issue for Infant Daughter

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - A gay married couple in Maryland is suing to challenge the State Department's refusal to recognize the U.S. citizenship of their infant daughter, who was born in Canada to a surrogate mother this year.

The federal lawsuit, filed Thursday, says a State Department policy unlawfully treats the children of married same-sex couples as if they were born out of wedlock.

An attorney for the plaintiffs, Roee Kiviti and Adiel Kiviti, says the suit is at least the fourth such case to challenge the policy. In February, a federal judge in California ruled that a son of a gay married couple has been a U.S. citizen since his birth. The State Department is appealing that decision.

The State Department didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the latest suit.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.