NJ Gay group to ask Supreme Court
for same-sex marriage ruling
Newsday.com from the
Web, September 21, 2004
TRENTON, N.J. -- The gay rights group
pushing to make same-sex marriages legal in New Jersey will ask the state
Supreme Court to consider the issue.
Lambda Legal officials said Tuesday they would file papers that seek a ruling
from the state's highest court on a lawsuit brought on behalf of seven same-sex
couples. A Superior Court judge ruled last fall
against legalizing gay marriage.
The appeal papers filed by Lambda include comments on New Jersey's new domestic
partnership law, which took effect this summer. That
law grants some legal rights to same-sex partners, such as the ability to make
medical decisions for each other.
"The domestic partnership law is an important start, but it falls far short of
marriage," said David Buckel, director of Lambda's Marriage Project.
"Lesbian and gay couples in New Jersey won't
have equal protections and security until they can get married, and that's what
we're seeking."
The Attorney General's Office has defended the state's ban on same-sex marriage,
saying that New Jersey's Constitution does not permit gay unions and that the
power to change the definition of marriage rests with the Legislature, not the
courts.
"The equal protection challenge to New Jersey's marriage statutes will
ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court," said Attorney General Peter C.
Harvey. "We believe an earlier solution to this
matter is in the best interest of the public. We
continue to believe that our state Legislature should define marriage."
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