CINCINNATI — A federal judge on Friday ruled a lawsuit seeking to have gay marriages recognized on Ohio death certificates can proceed despite a statewide ban on the nuptials.

Judge Timothy Black rejected a request from state attorneys to have a funeral director removed from the lawsuit, a move that essentially would have squelched it.

By allowing Cincinnati funeral director Robert Grunn to remain a plaintiff, the judge allows for his upcoming final ruling in the lawsuit to apply to potentially every gay Ohio couple who married in another state.

In his ruling, he indirectly addressed critics of the lawsuit who have called for his impeachment for encroaching on states’ rights, among other allegations.

“Rights protected by the U.S. Constitution can never be subordinated to the vote of the majority,” Black wrote.

The lawsuit originally would have applied only to two gay Cincinnati couples who married over the summer in other states.