|
(Albany, New York) New York State's highest
court was told Wednesday that denying same-sex couples the right to marry is not
only unconstitutional it is cruel.
In an omnibus case involving four different lawsuits the
Court of Appeals
did not indicate when it would issue a ruling on whether gay and
lesbian couples will be allowed to marry in the Empire State.
Only six justices were on the
bench to hear the combined cases
today. Justice Albert M. Rosenblatt,
considered by many a swing vote, recused himself.
In lower courts judges in three of the cases
upheld the current ban on same-sex marriage. In the fourth, New York City
judge Doris Ling-Cohan ruled that the New York State Constitution guarantees
basic freedoms to lesbian and gay people, and that those rights are violated
when same-sex couples are not allowed to marry. That ruling was overturned in a
midlevel appeals court.
"Lesbians and gay people who fall in love,
make commitments to each other, and raise children together deserve to have all
of the protections that married New Yorkers take for granted," said Roberta
Kaplan who argued on behalf of the ACLU and its clients.
"Today is an historic day for same-sex
couples and their families in New York," said Lambda attorney Susan Sommer
who was the first to present arguments today before the court.
"Our bottom line here is that if there are
going to be changes, they're going to be done by the Legislature," said
Peter Schiff, senior counsel with the attorney general's office. New York City's
lawyer, Leonard Koerner, told the court that even if gay marriage were
constitutional, it's not the court's role to implement it.
Judge George Bundy Smith appeared to agree asking
lawyers on both sides numerous times why the issue had been brought to the
court. "Why isn't this a legislative matter?"
Many of the more than 40 same-sex
couples involved in the case were at court today in Albany.
"In 1966, my parents couldn’t get married in many states because my
father is black and my mother is white; in 2006, I hope to marry my partner,”
said Curtis Woolbright, who along with his partner, Daniel Reyes, is one of the couples seeking the right to marry.
"Should
Daniel and I be privileged to have our own children, we hope that they will be
able to one day look back with the same shock and astonishment that I felt when
my parents told me that there was a time in our country when two people who
loved each other and wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of their lives
together and make a family together were denied that right in many states.”
A poll released last month showed that a majority
of people across New York State support same-sex marriage. (story)
The case is one of three in state supreme courts.
Arguments in New Jersey were heard in February. (story)
The justices peppered attorneys on both sides of
the argument about the legal implications of opening up gay marriage, and
whether the court or the legislature was the best venue to decide the issue.
In the state of Washington the wait for a ruling
on gay marriage has turned into a marathon.
Arguments challenging the state's ban on same-sex
marriage, the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, were made before the Washington
Supreme Court in March 2005. (story)
Several lawsuits seeking marriage rights are
working their way through the California court system and it is expected they
will reach the state Supreme Court next year.
The only state where same-sex marriage currently
legal is Massachusetts. Gay and lesbian couples there began marrying in May 2004
after that state's high court ruled the ban on same-sex marriage was
unconstitutional.
Meanwhile, as the marriage issue is fought on the
state level the Senate next week will take up a proposed amendment to the US
Constitution that would ban same-sex marriage. Just before the Senate votes
President Bush is expected to make an appeal for the measure's passage in a Rose
Garden speech. (story)
©365Gay.com 2006
|
Entertainment
