N.J. Court Rules
Against Same - Sex Couples
By AP from the
NYTimes on the Web, June 14, 2005
NEWARK, N.J. -- A state
appeals court ruled Tuesday that New Jersey's Constitution does not require the
recognition of gay marriage, rejecting the efforts of seven same-sex couples who
sued the state to allow them to marry.
The panel, in a 2-1 decision, affirmed a lower court ruling that said
legislators must change marriage laws before same-sex couples can wed.
Without legislative action, ''there is no basis for construing the New Jersey
Constitution to compel the state to authorize marriages between members of the
same sex,'' Appellate Judge Stephen Skillman wrote for the majority.
Appellate Judge Donald G. Collester dissented, saying that if marriage is
defined strictly as a heterosexual union, couples are denied the right to marry
the person of their choice and so have no real right to marry.
The dissent virtually assures the case will be heard by the state Supreme Court.
The seven couples sued the state to allow them to marry, but their case was
rejected by a judge in 2003.
The New Jersey attorney general's office contended that it had addressed the
concerns of gay couples through a domestic partnership law that offers same-sex
couples some rights similar to those of married couples, including the ability
to make medical decisions for each other and tax benefits.
Massachusetts is the only state that currently allows gay marriages.
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