On December 7, 2011, a same-sex couple filed suit in U.S. district court to obtain marriage licenses in Hawaii, which at that time denied licenses to such couples. The state's denial was based on its marriage laws: Article 1 § 23 of the Hawaii Constitution, which leaves any decision on same-sex marriage to the Hawaii State Legislature, along with (since repealed) Hawaii Statute § 572-1, which defined marriage only "between a man and a woman." The initial suit was styled "Jackson v. Abercrombie", after first-named-plaintiff Natasha Jackson and first-named-defendant Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie. On January 27, 2012, an amended complaint added plaintiff Gary Bradley, one partner in a same-sex civil union, who wanted to marry but thought it futile to apply. The plaintiffs argued that the marriage laws violated the Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Governor Abercrombie agreed with the plaintiffs that the ban violated both clauses of the U.S. Constitution, but the state's Director of Health, Loretta Fuddy, was allowed to defend the ban.