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NJ Gay couples appeal ruling By TRACY ROBINSON, Asbury Park Press from the Web, November 15, 2003 Asbury Park, NJ -- The seven same-sex couples from New Jersey who are suing the state for the right to marry will appeal the state Superior Court ruling that dismissed their case. Filed in June 2002 by Lambda Legal on behalf of the gay and lesbian couples, the lawsuit seeks the same legal rights for same-sex couples that married heterosexual couples are afforded, such as health benefits, hospital visitation rights and inheritance rights, said Marcye Nicholson-McFadden, 39, of Aberdeen. She, and partner Karen Nicholson-McFadden, 37, are among the seven New Jersey couples who are suing the state. In its motion to dismiss the case, the state argued that same-sex couples don't have a constitutional right to marry because the historic definition of marriage is a union between people of different genders. On Nov. 5, state Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg, sitting Mercer County, granted the dismissal. David Buckel, an attorney for Lambda Legal, an legal advocacy group of gays, lesbians, and people with AIDS, said he plans to appeal the decision. "Our goal all along has been to have it heard at highest court in New Jersey," Marcye Nicholson-McFadden said. "The right to marry someone of the same gender is not a fundamental right in this state or other states," Feinberg said in her ruling. "Furthermore, same-sex couples enjoy many benefits and privileges enjoyed by many married couples. Complete mathematical equality is not required," the decision states. But Marcye Nicholson-McFadden, who comes across problems on a regular basis because she and Karen can't marry, doesn't agree. For example, when Marcye's father passed away recently she asked for a bereavement plane fare discount for her family, including Karen. But to get the discount, "they ask what the relationship is to the deceased, and there is none," she said. "In the middle of all that it was such a crummy reminder" that the couple can't enjoy the same rights that married couples do, Marcye Nicholson-McFadden said. The issue is getting "the same social recognition that our relationship has that level of commitment, even though in our hearts and minds it is already there," she said. But some conservative groups, such as the New Jersey Family Policy Council that lauded Feinberg's decision, don't think they should have the same social recognition. "Simply eliminating an entire gender from the picture and still calling it 'marriage' is not a mere expansion of an institution but rather the destruction of a core principle of society," said NJFPC's executive director, Len Deo. Buckel disagreed. "What our couples are fighting for is the right to be responsible for each other," he said. "How is it that two people committing to be responsible for each other hurts others?" Tracy Robinson: (732) 643-4029 or trobinso@app.com
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