RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The American Civil Liberties Union is launching a new legal assault on North Carolina's constitutional ban on marriage for same-sex couples.

The group said Wednesday that it is urging a federal judge to quickly negate the state ban to help children as well as gay couples suffering from urgent health problems and struggling with insurance and other restrictions.

ACLU staff attorney Elizabeth Gill says the argument is similar to an Ohio case brought by a gay couple in which one man was terminally ill. A federal judge last year ordered Ohio to recognize out-of-state gay marriages on death certificates.

Federal judges have struck down bans in Michigan, Utah, Texas, Oklahoma and Virginia.

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Emery Dalesio can be reached at http://twitter.com/emerydalesio