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Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Law - Same sex marriage rulings expected

"Top State Court's Ruling on Gay and Lesbian Marriage Is Awaited" is the headline to a story today in the NY Times. The lengthy story begins:

New York's highest court is expected to rule today on what one legal scholar called a contest between judicial hearts and minds, a parsing of legal texts and private sympathies: whether to permit gay and lesbian marriage.

There are several directions the Court of Appeals could take, lawyers said. The most dramatic would be a clear affirmation that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, which would make New York the second state in the nation, after Massachusetts, to allow such marriages. In that event, the court could order the Legislature to rewrite the marriage law.

This backgrounder from Statetline.org, last updated June 7, 2006, begins:
Nearly half the states now outlaw or are poised to ban same-sex marriage in their constitutions, but at least three states – New Jersey, New York and Washington state – are a court order away from knowing whether they will join Massachusetts in legalizing gay weddings.

After hearing arguments in March 2005, the Supreme Court of Washington state is expected to rule any time now to uphold or overturn two lower court rulings in favor of same-sex marriage. It was the first state high court to tackle same-sex marriage since Massachusetts’ highest court issued its ruling legalizing gay unions in November 2003.

New York's highest court heard arguments on a similar lawsuit May 31, 2006, and New Jersey justices were briefed in February. Rulings in those states could come before the end of 2006.

A national debate over same-sex marriage has raged in courtrooms, in state legislatures and at ballot boxes across the country since Massachusetts began marrying same-sex couples on May 17, 2004, amidst street-party fanfare.

To head off potential court rulings like the one in Massachusetts, 20 states have written prohibitions on same-sex marriage into their state constitutions. The latest was Alabama on June 6, when 80 percent of voters approved the measure in a statewide referendum. At least six more states will hold statewide votes on same-sex marriage bans in November 2006: Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin. And more are in line with seven other states considering similar amendments (see side-bar).

Legal challenges seeking permission for gays and lesbians to marry are pending in nine states: California, Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, and Washington.

Judges have ruled both for and against same-sex marriage in some of those cases.

MORE COMING - but ot today. No ruling was issued today by the NY court, despite the NY Times story.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 5, 2006 08:36 AM
Posted to General Law Related