Questions and answers
about
NJ's gay marriage
case
By GEOFF MULVIHILL,
AP from Newsday.com February 14, 2006
Trenton, Feb.12 -- On
Wednesday, the New Jersey Supreme Court is to hear arguments about whether to
allow same-sex couples to marry.
Here is a look, in question-and-answer form, at the case's legal issues and
implications:
Q: What is the court deciding?
A: Gay marriage activists are asking the New Jersey Supreme Court to overturn a
2005 state appellate court ruling that said deciding whether to allow gay
marriage should be up to the Legislature, not the courts.
Q: What's the state's position?
A: Lawyers from the state are not arguing there's something wrong with allowing
gay marriage, but rather that it's not the court's role to decide whether it
should be allowed.
Q: And what do gay rights advocates say?
A: They say that marriage is a right and denying it to same-sex couples amounts
to discrimination. And ending discrimination like this, they say, is the
job of the courts.
Q. Who else has a stake in the debate?
A: There's an unusually large number of "friend of the court" briefs -- about
20. Most are from state and national organizations of social workers,
conservative think-tanks, academics and civil rights activists. Mostly,
those opposing gay marriage say that marriage is not a right but rather a tool
to control society and that allowing same-sex couples to marry would hurt
society and especially children. The supporters say same-sex marriage is a
civil right and that recognizing the unions would be good for society.
Q: Will the court have the final word?
A: The issues involved come from the New Jersey Constitution, not the federal
Constitution. In this type of case, there can be no appeals to the United
States Supreme Court. But there's likely to be political fallout no matter
what happens.
Q: What could happen next?
A: It usually takes several weeks to several months after arguments before the
court delivers its opinions.
If the court allows gay marriage, look for opponents to push to amend the state
Constitution to ban it.
If the court bars gay marriage, expect gay rights activists to try to broaden
New Jersey's domestic partnership law to include more of the rights that
straight, married couples have.
Q: Can I watch the arguments?
A: Yes. The arguments will be Webcast at
http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/webcast/index.htm
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