|
|
Asbury Park performs N.J.'s 1st gay marriageBy BOB CULLINANE, Asbury Park Press from the Web, March 10, 2004 ASBURY PARK, Mar.9 -- Ric Best and Louis Navarrete of Asbury Park were married yesterday at 3:35 p.m. in city hall, becoming the first gay couple to acquire a marriage license and marry in New Jersey. Their honeymoon lasted about three hours before the state Attorney General's Office said it will seek to invalidate the marriage and the license, calling it a "hoax" played on the gay couple by city officials who performed the ceremony. "We have a decision from a Superior Court judge that says same-sex marriages are not permitted in New Jersey," said Lee Moore, a spokesman for Attorney General Peter C. Harvey, referring to a November court ruling in Mercer County. Moore said the attorney general will "file the appropriate applications seeking to stop this conduct" sometime this week. The gay marriage and the quick reaction from state officials served to throw New Jersey into the ever-widening national debate about same-sex marriage. Mayors in close to a dozen cities, including San Francisco and New Paltz, N.Y., have performed hundreds of same-sex marriages in the past several months, none of which has yet been validated by the courts. Yesterday's ceremony in Asbury Park was brief, held in city council chambers just 72 hours after the couple, who has been together for 15 years, applied for a marriage license in the City Clerk's Office. The marriage was performed by city Deputy Mayor James Bruno, who said Mayor Kevin Sanders refused to perform the marriage. Sanders said yesterday he was not asked to officiate at the marriage and would not have performed it if asked. "I'm not about to break the law," Sanders said. An additional six applications for marriage licenses were made yesterday by same-sex couples in Asbury Park, Deputy City Clerk Kiki Tomek said. The next marriage could take place in the city Thursday, Tomek said. In addition to Bruno, two other city council members -- Kate Mellina and John Loffredo, who is gay -- attended the ceremony in a show of official, as well as personal, support. "We're very, very happy today," said Best, 44, as he rushed from city hall to a waiting car. "It's been a long time coming," added Navarrete, 42, gripping Best's hand and smiling. Navarrete is an interior designer who owns From House to Home on Cookman Avenue, and he has helped lead the movement in recent years to revitalize the downtown. Best is an artist, formerly of Ocean Grove, whose works have been displayed at Navarrete's store. Asked if he considered the marriage license they received from the clerk to be valid, Navarrete held up his yellow copy of the license and said, "We have a license, and it's legal." In a prepared statement, Tomek said she issued the license to Best and Navarrete because "I am not aware of any provision in the New Jersey statutes which . . . expressly bans same-sex marriage." Her interpretation of state law, however, contradicts the November ruling in Superior Court that found New Jersey marriage statutes do not permit same-sex marriage. That ruling has been appealed by seven same-sex couples -- including one from Aberdeen -- who claim the denial of marriage rights is a violation of the state constitution. That appeal is expected to be decided in the state Supreme Court, said Michael Adams, a lawyer with Lamba Legal, a gay-rights organization that represents the seven couples. "We really believe the issue (of same-sex marriage) is a constitutional one," Adams said yesterday, adding that the legal impact of yesterday's ceremony in Asbury Park is unclear. "It is certainly a courageous step and represents the ground-swell of support we're seeing across the country," Adams said of the marriage. "But ultimately, the answer to the question of same-sex marriage will be found in the (state) constitution, not the statutes." In a letter to mayors across the state issued yesterday before the marriage in Asbury Park took place, William G. Dressel Jr., executive director of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, labeled gay marriage ceremonies a violation of state law. "Until the New Jersey courts or Legislature make it legal to issue same-sex marriage licenses, a person who performs a same-sex marriage can be prosecuted under the statute," he said. John Tomika, executive director of the League of American Families, a conservative organization, agreed. "There is no constitutional or statutory authority for same-sex couples in New Jersey to marry," he said yesterday. "The action taken today (in Asbury Park) represents governmental anarchy." Monmouth County Prosecutor John Kaye said the marriage most likely does not violate criminal law, but "it may be something that violates civil law." Kaye said he plans to raise the issue today during a regularly scheduled meeting with Harvey and other county prosecutors. But Kaye didn't seem fazed by the marriage. "This is not a big deal," he said. "The earth doesn't come to a halt because someone wants to get married." Legal issues aside, supporters of same-sex marriage yesterday hailed the Asbury Park cere-mony as another advance in what they consider an irrepressible civil rights movement. "This is awesome. It's great," Karen Nicholson-McFadden of Aberdeen said when she heard the news. "It's no longer about a couple of gay people out there fighting for their rights. There are more people now willing to put their beliefs on the line," she said. Karen and her partner, Marcye Nicholson-McFadden, are one of the seven couples challeng-ing the Superior Court ruling on the ground it violates the state constitution. Melissa Brannon of Bucks County, Pa., a friend of the Asbury Park couple who attended the marriage ceremony yester-day, said gay marriage "should be no big deal. To think President Bush wants a constitution-al amendment banning it is horrifying to me." Joe D'Andrea of Asbury Park, another friend of the couple who attended the ceremony, said the event yesterday "was exciting. These guys knew they were making history, but they consider themselves a normal couple who wanted to get mar-ried." When the ceremony ended, the couple rushed to their waiting car and waved to about a dozen friends and well-wishers stand-ing outside in the light, chilly rain. When asked where they were going on their honeymoon, Best said, "the Berkeley-Carteret (hotel)," and the car pulled away. Staff writers Nancy Shields and Tom Troncone contributed to this story. Bob Cullinane: (732) 643-4285 or bobc@app.com
JOSEPH J. DELCONZO photo
ceremony in Asbury Park. They became the first gay couple to acquire a marriage license and marry in New Jersey.
|
Send mail to
email@gaypasg.org with questions or comments about this web site.
|
