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(New York City) A New York State appeals
court on Thursday overturned a ruling that the state ban on same-sex marriage
was unconstitutional.
The state Supreme Court's Appellate Division
ruled 4-1 that New York City judge Doris Ling-Cohan erred in her ruling last
February and then proceeded to wrap her knuckles for the way she did it.
"We find it even more troubling that the
court, upon determining the statute to be unconstitutional, proceeded to rewrite
it and purportedly create a new constitutional right," the four majority
justices said.
A dissenting opinion by the fourth justice said
that denying the rights and benefits of marriage to New York State's gay and
lesbian "residents is contrary to the basic principles underlying our
constitution, our legal system and our concepts of liberty and justice, and
perpetuates a deeply ingrained form of legalized discrimination."
In her ruling Ling-Cohan said the state's ban on
gay marriage was not only unconstitutional but also t hat the New York City clerk
may not deny a marriage license solely because a couple is of the same sex. (story)
The case was brought by 5 gay and lesbian couples
from Manhattan. The were represented by Lambda Legal.
Today's appellate ruling was the result of an
appeal by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Lambda Legal said it is anxious to argue the case
before the state's highest court. Ling-Cohan put her ruling on hold because of
the appeal.
"While we believe the trial court got it
right, we anticipated that this case would be heard before the state's high
court," said Susan Sommer, Senior Counsel at Lambda Legal and lead attorney
on the case.
"This is a question of basic constitutional
rights for same-sex couples and their families, and history shows that
fairness under the law will eventually prevail."
The state's largest LGBT civil
rights group also said it expects gay couples will ultimately
win in the high court and took issue with today's majority
ruling that attacked judge Ling-Cohan.
"Our state constitution
guarantees equal treatment for all New Yorkers," said
Empire State Pride Agenda executive director Alan Van Capelle.
"Judges have not only a
right but an obligation to interpret the state’s
constitution and assert the rights of every citizen. We expect
the high court will take this case and are optimistic that
they will reaffirm this important principal of equal treatment
by ruling in our favor."
The case is one of three currently working their
way up the legal system to New York State's highest court.
In October an appeals court in Albany heard
arguments in another of the cases. This one involved 12 same-sex couples
and stemmed from a lower court ruling that said only the legislature could
decide whether gay and lesbian couples can wed. (story)
Among the litigants is New York State Assemblyman
Danny O'Donnell and his partner John Banta. (story)
O'Donnell is the brother of Rosie O'Donnell. The appeals court has not ruling in
the case
The third suit involves many of the same-sex
couples who tried to marry in New Platz.
It is expected that all three cases eventually
will reach New York's highest Court, the Court of Appeal. It is also
expected that the three cases will be rolled together so that the justices can
issue a single ruling on same-sex marriage.
©365Gay.com 2005
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